Joy Beckner has had a love of art since childhood and is inspired by sensuous shapes of skin, bone and muscle in human and animal forms.  Trained at Washington University School of Fine Arts she first worked in fashion and then fund raising before returning to art about twenty years ago when a sculpture class re-awakened her love for modelling clay.  She models clay into classical forms, which are then cast into bronze.  She is thrilled to make something move in the round bringing smiles, giggles or tears to the eyes of those who see and touch her work.

Her bronze dachshunds range from life-sized to 1:6 scale miniatures and  have won numerous awards, including the National Sculpture Society (of America) Silver Medal.  Other major awards include the Ellin P Speyer Prize from the National Academy; four Best in Shows and two Awards of Excellence, the Leonard J Meiselman Award and the Elliot Siskin Award from the Society of Animal Artists.  

Her work is collected on six continents not only by private collectors but also by museums and corporations including The Library of Hattiesburg, the Dunnegan Gallery of Art in Bolivar and the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog in her home town of St Louis in Missouri.  Joy is available to undertake private commissions.  Please enquire for details.