"Venice's Boots"
Watercolor 18"x 24" $425.00
I completed this painting just after I returned from Wyoming and was teaching at the Lawrence Art Center. These boots belong to my niece, Venice. She lives in Jelm, in rural southeastern Wyoming. Jelm is actually a town with a post office, gas station, small store, bar, cafe and eight log cabins that her parents rent out to tourists. The resort is called "Woods Landing". It is located on the Laramie River and is listed on the historic register. It is a beautiful place to live and grow up. I also lived in Jelm when I was in college at the University of Wyoming. I lived in one of the eight cabins that line the Laramie River long before Sue and Bill, my sister and brother in law purchased it. My heart always seems to be in Wyoming. The long harsh winters create a unique relationship between the land and the people who live there and I love the silence of the vast landscape. I was in Wyoming working on a mural project for Harmony School which is the school Venice attends. There are 26 students. The mural told the story of Wyoming from the time of the dinosaurs to modern times. I stayed at Woods Landing with Venice and at the end of the project, Sue, my sister in law asked me if I wanted to take Venice's boots. She had outgrown them. These are Venice's old boots that she wore while she barrel raced in Wyoming. I was deeply grateful. I carry them with me everywhere and students have painted them all across the United States where ever I teach and work. I am deeply grateful to Sue for giving them to me because I am able to carry a part of Wyoming with me where ever I go.
"Mexican Pots and Blanket", Blacksburg, Va
Watercolor 22x30" $525
My husband created these pots while we were living in Oaxaca, Mexico studying Spanish at the Instituto Culturale. We went to school in the morning for language then in the afternoons we had the opportunity to take ceramics, cooking, or weaving. We loved visiting all of the indigenous villages and archaeological sites in the region. We returned to the States and life found us in returning to graduate school in southwest Virginia. We were surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains and we loved going to school, however, during those cold winters we often thought of our trip to Oaxaca, the warm sun and the wonderful adventures we had. I began to miss Mexico and during one of those cold December days, I gathered up his pots and one of our Mexican blankets and began this painting remembering the warm sun, welcoming people and the sounds of Mexico.
$475.00
