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Valerie Edwards
obtained a college education in the arts and sciences and
continued to pursue these interests in her post-graduate
studies. Her education landed her a job as the Director of
Sculpture for a research and development company. In this
capacity, she worked on the development of state-of-the-art
robotics and technology. In addition, she has worked as a
children's book illustrator.
In 1988, Edwards
joined Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), the master planning,
design, and engineering arm of the Company that creates and
develops overall planning concepts and all phases of Disney
Theme Park attractions and development. Disney was always
near and dear to Valerie's heart, as her father was a DIsney
animator who worked on such masterpieces as Sleeping Beauty.
At Walt Disney
Imagineering, Edwards is currently the Director of Sculpture,
where she oversees the creation of sculptures for all of the
Disney Theme Parks around the world, as well as the ships of the
Disney Cruise Line, and various hotels.
Edwards also has
lent her talent and expertise to the Walt Disney Classics
Collection sculptures since 1993. When asked to compare
her work at WDI with that of the WDCC, she says the biggest
difference is in the scale. "At Imagineering, we create
sculptures that measure up to 40 feet, while my work on the Walt
Disney Classics Collection requires many tiny, intricate
details," she explains.
Over the years,
she has created numerous sculptures for the WDCC including
Aladdin's Genie, the Sleeping Beauty
woodcutter's cottage,
Lumiere and
Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, and
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from Alice in Wonderland to name
a few.
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