“I had one bear that started out at six feet [tall] and ended up at three feet

“I had one bear that started out at six feet [tall] and ended up at three feet,” she laughed. Leesa has never been the kind of woman to call it quits after a few bumps in the road, so she kept going and eventually her work began to transform. Leesa has brought dozens of creations to life since she first began. Her more recent pieces involve multiple parts, like her tribute to servicemen and women which includes a police officer, a firefighter and a paramedic circling a bald eagle and an American flag. Leesa also perfected the creation of made-to-order signs, using a small rotary tool to get the tiniest of details just right. Her benches are unique, not just because of their individuality, but because of their comfort as Leesa has taken care to get the seating at just the perfect angle for optimal satisfaction. On top of her local art, Leesa has pieces in New York, Maryland, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, California, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, and even Chochołów, Poland, where she made friends with a local wood artist and charmed him so much that he put a chainsaw in her hands. After Leesa quickly whipped up a welcome sign in Polish, he declared that he would hire her on the spot. She even had a piece displayed in the Pentagon for three weeks. Leesa approaches each carving by sketching out a