Tony Ramirez, artist of the only cello in the group, swapped chores for classes and supplies from Maxine Dalben's Center Street art center at the early age of 10. According to Dalben, he was a prodigious and precocious student.

Ramirez continued taking classes from Dalben through high school, learning to work in multiple media. After high school, he attended San Joaquin Delta College, where he took architecture, carpentry and print making classes, although many of his skills are self-taught. At the same time, began to work for the late Hugh Milligan, a building designer with whom he shared studio space.

During the 1970s, Ramirez focused heavily on stained glass, a popular medium during that decade. When interest in the form dwindled, he worked as art director for Snider Lithograph in Stockton before signing on to do design work for a furniture company.

In 2000, he became self-employed, working full-time from his home from which he had always done part-time work. Ramirez has done work for The Haggin Museum, University of the Pacific's Morris Chapel and St. Mary's Church.

Ramirez feels the tug-of-war between the artistic muse and money. "If I was filthy rich, I'd probably paint and do window work," he said. When Social Security kicks in, he will take on less commissioned work and pursue more independent projects. But for Ramirez, the line between employment and retirement is blurred.

"You never really retire in this business," he said.

Summary of an article originally run in The Record