From the sketchbook -

We took the "road less traveled" last weekend.  Marvelous scenery and buildings you just don't see anymore.  That area is one of the better kept secrets in the region; full of dairy farms, big barns, and enticing snippets of family history. 
Update:   Below is what we thought was the Ovid school, but I researched a little and found it was the church - dedicated about 1896.  The steeple has been pared down to the shape we saw this weekend - but it had been tall with a bell tower type look at the beginning.

Ovid, Idaho Church, (graphite over a watercolor wash)

Mink Creek School, (colored pencil over watercolor wash)

A Break with Tradition

#1  18"x 24"

#2 18"x 24"

#4  18"x 24"

#5   24"x 30"

A couple of new ideas hit this spring.  So you're the first to see the "Non Representational" side of my art.  (It might be a logical progression from some of our glass work)   They're not even named yet.

 There's something about  the tight control of the squares against the randomness of the circles and lines and inclusions that appeals to me. It's really fun and liberating to play with the color combinations and textures.

Mike is still making up his mind about them.  He asked me last night if I had always dreamed of doing things like this.  He seemed a little nervous...

Opinions would be welcomed.

#3  18"x 24"

State Art 2013

Our H.S. Students with their glass fish, Pita the Great.  

We are just back from a wonderful State Art Experience.  We took 9 students(Jordan, Tyrell, Tori, Beth, Nancy, Isabelle, Ashley, Taylor and Brianna), spent 3 nights in Casper, helped set up and take down the huge show in the Events Center, grappled with hot issues of unlawful transportation of art work  from one spot to another, pot smokers in the hotel, where to eat- what to eat,  and how much shopping is too much shopping, etc.  The weather was fantastic - warmest I've seen in years, the company was great, and the kids came away with 18 ribbons out of 58 entries.  

I'm very proud of all of them!

Dining experiences are always special at State Art

Mike and his Glass Creation, Mathematics, at the Nicholaysen.  

Mike has always been such a supporter of the arts and whatever projects I'm involved in.  This time he was our star!  The photo marks his first exhibited piece in the faculty show!  I anticipate more to come.

From the Sketch Book

Jenna in  Graphite

Watercolors

Bear Lake Pioneer Home with "detached" porch - watercolor

 Thought this was interesting because a mud porch or front door had been taken off the north side of the home, but the outline remained because the wood inside the porch had been protected from the elements. Construction would be typical of the homes built after the first small one story log cabins had served their purpose. 

Randolph/Woodruff area brick home, watercolor

This stately brick home stands abandoned - trees overgrown, some dead.  Another mute testimony to better days in the ranching communities of northern Utah.

From the Sketchbook - Esther Sarah Frewin

Thought I'd try a sketch of a great grandmother, Esther Sarah Frewin Seward, from a very little genealogy photo.  My hope was that the details might emerge which escaped us in the photo.

I realized a few things about her as the sketch took shape.  The hat - must be crocheted or lace with lots of ribbons added and tied under the chin.  She had perhaps lost some of her teeth by now judging from the angle of the corners of her mouth.  I hadn't appreciated how beautiful her eyes were.  Judging from her face, I would guess the photo was taken later in her life - maybe sometime between the 1870's and her death in 1885.

She came from England,  was widowed a second time shortly after arriving, moved with her only daughter to pioneer settlements in Utah and Idaho.  Her grandchildren remember her with great fondness.  She lost her sight near the end of her life.  I would like to know more about this courageous little pioneer.

From the Sketchbook

Willows in a High Desert Meadow, Colored Pencil