Karen Heyl    My earliest memory of wanting to be an artist happened when I was five years old and my kindergarten teacher held up my drawing as an example for the rest of the class to follow. As I grew up, making art was always an important part of my life. Early on I studied watercolor/ acrylic/oil painting. In 1979, while attending the Art Academy of Cincinnati, I was introduced to stone sculpture and found it to be the medium for which I was best suited. My bas-relief work has many applications and is installed in universities, hospitals, churches, parks and recreation areas, housing communities, and corporate headquarters throughout the United States. My whimsical multi-media ceramic birds allow for color to be a part of my sculptures.