Cheryl Carlstrom
cacarlstrom@hotmail.com

I grew up in Tujunga, Calif., a small town on the edge of the Angeles Forest. As a child I spent a lot of time roaming the chaparral foothills with my siblings. My dad loved the outdoors and he taught us the names of animals, birds and plants on our Sunday evening walks through our playground. It is through him that I developed a love for and desire to include wildlife in my art.

We also lived by the old McGroarty Art Center, and I took art classes there, quickly becoming a fixture in the drawing and painting classes, which I attended as a child, teen and adult.

I came to sculpture late, and quite by accident, really, but it captured my imagination and I have loved it.

Besides sculpting the animals I love, I sculpt children. I feel through them we can be reminded of our divine nature and our brightest hopes. They can bind us into a community of optimism, of serving and protecting each other. Children embody optimism. They are vibrant, curious and imaginative; they bridge our past selves with the future and underline our responsibilities to nurture good values and traditions into a sense of community.