POLYSKILLABIC: Sacramento artist Lily Toppenberg has been involved in art of some type all of her life. She began making art in public as a pre-schooler, drawing pictures of horses for the amusement of the customers in her parents' restaurant at Cottonwood Corners in southern California.

After studying art at the California College of Arts and Crafts, she began her commercial art career in 1977 as a graphic designer and illustrator, then segued into film production doing camera graphics, story boards, and, along the way, picking up innumerable skills in many mediums while making props, models and film sets.

She has received many awards for her efforts, including an Emmy,  two Clios, the Communication Arts Magazine Award of Excellence and has been honored by the Sacramento Advertising Club countless times. At present, she divides her time between computer graphics* and painting commercial and residential murals, magically transforming rooms into environments.