| Animals and art have been constants in Ann`s life. As a child, her parents indulged her passion for both by providing art supplies and allowing her to raise a menagerie of pets. Her affinity for animals of every sort, and an especially close bond with horses, have stayed with her throughout her life. Sculpting animals is a natural expression of Ann`s early interests. |
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| Bronze "Lynx" - Rhodes College, Memphis |
After high school, Ann received a scholarship to Rhodes College - a liberal arts college in Ann`s hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. She intended to study anatomy and physiology in Rhodes` well-
respected Biology department. Ann`s eventual educational goal was admission to a veterinary school or medical school. A freshman sculpture class introduced a fateful change in her focus. Ann enjoyed art but had not seriously considered an art major until she met Lon Anthony, the sculpture professor at Rhodes who operated a small bronze foundry on campus. Lon respected Ann`s talent and encouraged her to sculpt both animals and the human figure. The wide variety of sculptures depicting animals that Ann studied in art history courses at Rhodes inspired her to create her own powerful animal images.
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| Detail of "Lynx" |
Ann decided to change her major to studio art soon after she had her first awe-inspiring introduction to pouring molten bronze to create a series of small cat sculptures. The transition from biology to art seemed natural and opportunities for Ann as an artist opened quickly. Rhodes recognized her talent and commissioned her as an undergraduate student to create the school`s monumental-scale bronze lynx mascot. The mascot has been installed on the school`s campus ever since. During the design phase of Ann`s commission, Professor Anthony arranged for Ann to study the bronze animals of Anna Hyatt Huntington and other sculptors at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.
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| "Lynx" above the Rhodes Amphitheater |
While casting the Lynx, Ann met Larry and Andrea Lugar, the owners of the Lugar Bronze Foundry and Gallery, now located in Eads, TN. Upon graduating cum laude with a BA in Studio Art from Rhodes in 1988, she began working full-time at the foundry where she remained for almost 13 years. By acting as the Lugar`s Foundry Foreman, Ann acquired extensive bronze casting and sculpting experience. While there she cast her own limited edition bronzes and assisted other artists in translating their original artworks into bronze. Many of the works she supervised are large-scale sculptures on public display around Memphis and the Mid-South. Ann resigned from her position with the foundry in 2000 to pursue her own art career and to have more time for her family. She still occasionally works with the foundry on special projects.