For some people, the need to create and innovate exceeds mere passion. It is the driving force behind their daily existence. So it is for Barbara Day Romero, an artist whose imagination and inventiveness, along with a deep well of talent, have kept her on the cutting-edge of the artistic world. Even before she had finished grade school, Day Romero recognized her calling. By age nine, she was enrolled in her first adult-level drawing classes and continued studying art as an important part of her education. After leaving the University of Arizona where she majored in Fine Arts, Day Romero married a prominent Arizona rancher and focused her career on drawing, painting and teaching southwestern desert and mountain landscapes, cowboys and horses. A move to Santa Fe New Mexico more than three decades ago triggered an interest in three-dimensional art and she began exploring sculpting in steel. She learned to plasma cut sheet steel and aluminum into an endless variety of shapes, stack and weld them together, and coat them with brilliant colors and designs. Large florals, bold pots and native tapestries became her signature style. Always the creator, Day Romero continues to find original ways to use her skills. Her fascination with color has led her to explore painting with acrylics on canvas. Her currant creations incorporate flat, sharp edged shapes, intricate patterns, and, of course, magnificent colors. The portrayal of Indigenous Women dominates her recent choice of subject matter. The Women tell a tale of both unity and isolation, survival and acceptance. The Women Day Romero paints evoke a mood, an emotion, a silent strength.