The photo gallery requires at least Flash version 9.0.28.

Diane Bird with Gumby the Corgi, Orie and Kenny sticking their heads out of the windows, and beloved Pongo, who died a couple years ago. Diane Bird with Gumby the Corgi, Orie and Kenny sticking their heads out of the windows, and beloved Pongo, who died a couple years ago.

Meet Diane Bird

Lexington artist works in stained glass

Name: Diane Michelle Bird.

Born: Somers Point, N.J. 1950.

Current residence: Lexington, Va.

Family: Just my husband of almost 38 years, Art Bird.  I have one aunt, a sister and a brother in N.J.

Pets:  10-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Gumby; two cats, a black female named Bear and an orange male named Chris.

Horses:  Four. My trail/dressage horse Highfly (Willie), a chestnut Polish Arabian; my husband's trail horse, Smooth Skip Playboy (Skip), a liver chestnut quarter horse; and two adopted Thoroughbreds, Lone Star Flash (Kilkenny), a black Thoroughbred; and Orobet (Orie), a gray Thoroughbred.

Occupation:  Retired eighth-grade science teacher. Currently I am a part-time assistant for a local attorney.

How did you happen to become an equine artist?  When I was teaching eighth grade in N.J., the school psychologist at my school conducted a stained glass class.  I took the class in hopes of making a stained glass carousel horse.  I liked the medium so much that I ended up teaching the class, and starting my own stained glass business, Equiglas. 

What is your “claim to fame”? Winning 1st place in the "mixed media" category at the Virginia Equine Artists Exhibition held at the Virginia Horse Center in 2006.

Hobbies:  Being on the board of directors, the secretary, and volunteer at Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center; volunteering at various horse trials in several states as well as being a member of the organizing committee for VHT events at the Virginia Horse Center; dressage lessons on Willie; trail riding; gardening; helping several nonprofit equine groups through sale of my stained glass.

Philosophy on life: Slow and steady may not win the race, but it gets you where you're going.  And you even have time to enjoy the trip!

Best horse advice ever received: Listen to your horse — you’ll be amazed at how much he can tell you! 

What would people be surprised to learn about you?  I really have no idea. I'm pretty open.  What you see is pretty much what you get.  

Where can people see your artwork?  I usually have pieces for sale at the Virginia Horse Center and at Dover Saddlery in Lexington, and on my website www.equiglas.com.