My interest in art has stemmed from early childhood, inspired especially by reading. This has continued to be one of my primary sources for images, from early fairy stories to folk tales from a variety of cultures. While Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen were my original bed time stories, I later discovered the tales of Russian collectors like Afanasyev and Norwegians Jorgen Moe and Peter Asbjornsen. Many other stories have been passed down and changed from culture to culture. My favorite is the Icelandic story of a young girl whose adventures are much like those of Cinderella, but in this version she rejects the prince as being too superficial, having only noticed her in her finery and gold slippers.