Emerging artist Rachael Zaudke Wilkins has been enthralled with animals and nature since early childhood. She began her horse career at the age of nine while working on her girl scout “equestrian badge”. Over the next decade, Zaudke competed on a national level as a youth and then graduated to the amateur ranks as a young adult. Her focus on the equine led her from showing horses to teaching and training, and eventually to explore the horse form in her art classes at Murray State University, in Murray Kentucky. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2003, with a double major of metalsmithing emphasizing on small sculpture, and fine art print making. Her passion for the horse form has evolved in stages, each revealing the different aspect of the animal. Capturing the enormity of the horse while exploring the mass and stature of the equine, some of her figures are abstract while others retain a classical form. Fascinated by the animal world, Zaudke sculpts a variety of creatures, often finding inspiration in her local environment. From spotting deer in the wild to coping with the disfigurement of her college dog, Zaudke sculpts from the heart – empowering her animal form with the spirit of the animal itself.