May Artist Kathleen Petitjean

I have been painting, sculpting, and drawing since I first took a crayon to my bedroom ceiling when I was three.

Apart from the crayons, clay, and ink, I worked closely with children with autism and other special needs as a school-based Occupational Therapist for nearly thirty years.

In my work as an OT, I used Newfoundland dogs to help teach interactional skills. My dogs’ calm, easy dispositions, coupled with my illustrated books, helped the children practice social skills shown in the books.  This work inspired me to write and illustrate The ABC of DOG: Essential Manners for Good Dogs on a Friendly Planet.  Self-published as my “everybody’s book disguised as a children’s book”, the Newfoundland teacher in The ABC of DOG is based on Galileo, my real-life therapy dog.

My work in clay began as a 10-year-old in 4-H. From my first lop-sided, coil pot to my Venus Silvae tree sculptures, I love taking elements from God’s Creation (clay, water, heat) and making something that will, as best as I can, with the talent He gave me, glorify Him.

If you would like to purchase a signed copy of my ABC book, please go to my Etsy site

To see more of and to contact me about my sculpture works, please go to my website