At this time, I was living in Austin, Tx., still playing with my pastels, but also doing finished-ware ceramics(mostly decorative collectibles).  It was fun, but I kept wanting to get out my pastels.  I took my first pastel class from a lady in Pflugerville, Tx., and did my first portrait.  This is Brooke, my niece.  I really enjoyed painting her(again, from a photo), and realized how much I loved doing portraits.  Soon after finishing "Brooke", my husband came home one day and asked me if I would like to live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a couple or so years.  Can you guess what my answer was?!!  This is where I'll start off on my next blog.  I did another portrait, and it has an interesting "Santa Fe" story.