I want to share some stories how I became an artist

I want to share some stories how I became an artist.In April of 1980 I traveled to Cody,WY to pick up my first bronze sculpture. It was a bull rider I titled ‘’SPINING AND WINNING’’ I was as excited as a young kid on Christmas morning when I held my first bronze sculpture in my hands. I wasn't sure what to do next, when Bucky Hall, the owner of Caleco Foundry, told me he thought the bronze was good for my first effort and that I should let him enter it in the Cody Chamber Art Show. I had never entered an art show before. Bucky told me he would take care of it and put it in the amateur sculpture division. Much to my surprise, I won first place and $15. That 15 bucks is long gone, but I still have the blue ribbon hanging in my studio. I remember how good it felt to win that first ribbon. It gave me a bit of validation, and I thought, “I'm on to something here; this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.” I was going to do whatever it took to become a professional bronze sculptor.