Maria Battista trained as a sculptor and gold smith in Tuscany and Umbria, Italy, in Colorado Springs, and in Denver and Marble, Colorado. After formal education at Rutgers University (B.A.) and Kansas University (M.A.) she embraced life and work in the Pike’s Peak region. Her business name, First Circle Studios, refers to a vibrant life of study, contemplation, and travel which all drive her creative and spiritual activity. In her media of bronze and stone, she works in the tradition of the European Masters, emphasizing the figure as embodiment of the emotional and esoteric dimensions of the human experience. Her work has appeared in exhibitions and galleries ranging from Colorado to Santa Fe to Costa Rica. She has been featured in numerous magazine articles, including having her sculpture on the cover of the Colorado Journeys Magazine. Maria is available for public and private sculptural commissions.