I sculpt animal headed figures in wood. They are mythological and symbolic. Technically, I work with logs, using chainsaws, hand tools, and the work comes through creatively from my imagination.

EDUCATION | Studied Pre-Med thought I'd be a doctor. Didn't choose that career path, obviously.

HOW TO GET STARTED | I think if you don't have the drive to do it, you couldn't make a justification for doing it. So drive is key!!! If you really want to do it, it requires enormous sacrifices, with both money and time. You have to ask yourself, what do I give and what do I get? If you don't get all you need from the process, you may not think it is worth your time. You can definitely make money. But, it's important to push yourself to different places with your work. You want to try to grow as an artist and take risks and get critiqued, that is very important. I'm 40 and kind of breaking even. People measure success really individually. I think most people feel lucky if they make stuff they love and afford to pay their expenses and do it full time. I have a part time job in a library but it's a pretty good balance. I can mentor kids in college, I work nights and I have summers off. I would love to be a better businesswoman though, sometimes it's hard to have to sacrifice so much time to my library job.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | Self-driven, confident, perseverance, and kind of shrewd (the business side is tough) if you are shrewd you can have a business edge over someone else who may be well, more meek or shy.

how I got started | I was doing junkyard art (found object assemblage where you pick up stuff that you find on the street or natural objects and make art out of it) and pop inspired art. Then I worked with Joseph Wheelwright and learned how to carve wood. To have a mentor was a turning point, I didn't go to art school. I think it just tapped into something deeper in me. It also had more commercial potential, which my art didn't have before. He taught me about the marriage of the business and art worlds. Sculpture takes time, it was a good 5 years of learning before I made a full body of work on my own. And the last 5 years, I've spent promoting my sculptures. It's not immediate gratification in this line of work.

why this job?| It was really how I felt about it. I was doing poetry and really loved that, but when I started "found object" work, I felt so passionate about it. I really tapped into something powerful in me; nothing else really brought that out in me. I could get good grades, but it's not something that really resonated with me. Again, it's really a marriage of your head and heart. After I started sculpture, I couldn't turn back, there is (and was) nothing else I wanted to do. To be honest: I didn't see this career path coming. My first figure was a horse headed figure....it came out of nowhere, something greater than myself started happening with my work. People always try to be part of something bigger, and well something archetypal comes out of you when you become enthralled in this line of work.

why I love this job!| I love that's its challenging. I love that it's self-directed creatively, as an entrepreneur. I love that it's the sky's the limit, with opportunities. I love that my art evokes a response out of people. I love it when people who really make a connection with my sculptures tell me what they see in my art work, www.donnadodsonartist.blogspot.com.

my typical day| Breakfast, email, I try to do administrative work, anything that requires focus. Then I go to the studio and spend about 8 hours a day, sometimes it's broken up, sometimes its 6 hours broken up and I also work weekends too. I take walks as well, its essential for me to get away and have a break because this work can get intense. I've made 50 figures so far; I don't have specific plans in my head. If I have interesting wood that can dictate what I decide to do, I go for it. Again, my materials kind of determine what I am going to do; I work off of a vision in my head. The hard thing is to push your self to see something and go for it. The exciting part is the challenge.

what they are | The financial part is a challenge. Measuring success can be challenging. It's a lot of hard work. Marketing is difficult, finding the right market can be really tough. A lot of it is networking with other artists, they are the ones who will tell me about organizations they are in and which ones to join, contests to submit work to, and juried shows to showcase my work. A couple years ago I did a lot of juried shows, and a lot of traveling, and it helps to build your resume and of course, talking to people about your work is important. I travel a lot to New York. That's a huge draw for me.

all about growth | I think it depends on your work, in the sense that the idea, for some, is that you get gallery representation in New York and that leads to shows with other galleries nationally, then internationally. Also getting included in a museum collection or a private collection. Getting the attention of those private collectors, that would be the career trajectory in this business. You can get noticed participating in the juried shows, regional shows or thematic shows and having open studios. I also open my studio and show my work annually. You can open your studios on a weekend at a group site or at your own site, that way you are selling direct and you can also get commissions. If you work with a gallery, you have to negotiate the business side of your artwork with them as a full partner in the process.

my website| http://www.donnadodsonartist.blogspot.com