The story of the Lipizzan has many dramatic twists and turns, starting in the 1600s when it was developed as a breed that could be taught to do difficult motions on command and with balletic grace and precision - including highly controlled, stylized jumps known as “airs above the ground.” - and almost ending in World War II when the breed was saved from extinction by American troops. With “Dance of the Lipizzans,” a masterpiece by a New Mexico equine artist, the legend lives on.

We caught up with Lori in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she was sorting through the contents of an architectural antique store she had inherited from her recently passed great-aunt. Although there was sadness to the occasion, in a way it was the perfect time and place to catch Lori in a reflective mood, because “the roots of my art are in this place.”

Lori grew up in Tucson, the daughter of a handyman and a kindergarten schoolteacher, but from the age of five she spent her summers with her great-aunt in Lincoln. There, to keep her occupied, she was given the job of touching up the antiques that needed to be repainted. For diversion, Lori would sometimes let her imagination take over and paint designs and scenes on old milk cans and coal scuttles.