Joan Pollak, a member of Artists in Real Time, Inc. and participant in the annual city-wide Open Studio Hartford, specializes in animal art created from locally sourced, hand-painted driftwood. She looks to each piece of wood to reveal the animal hidden within, then she helps it emerge to express its unique, often whimsical personality. The result: one-of-kind hanging and freestanding animal sculptures – ranging from those of the barnyard variety to the Africa veldt to the tip of Antarctic – that are preserved beneath layers of polyurethane for display both indoors and out. Ms. Pollak studied graphic design at the University of Florida, where she earned a B.A. in Art, as well as an M.A. in English. Her work has been featured at several shows, art festivals, in online shops, as well as in private collections.