Since the degree plan required a fine arts course, I thought I’d just see what I could do. That was the beginning of several courses under Danny Holeva, Susan Randle, and Judy Griffin. Then, my drama career took over. Acting experience really helped when it came to group/team project presentations which many University of Texas Permian Basin courses required. In 1999, I graduated summa cum laude and purchased the Midland PostNet business services franchise, where we packaged and shipped; copied and printed; and more! My greeting cards were sold thru that venue until I closed the store in February, 2011 to pursue my art interests full time. Midland’s Visitor Center at Rankin Hwy and Interstate 20 carries a few originals, prints and greetings cards, and a variety of originals is on display at McCourt Management, 3413 Andrews Highway. I accept some commission work.

I have won several awards in local art shows both juried and non-juried. My West Texas horned toad, Horns ‘N Thorns, won Best of Show in the Midland Arts Association fall 2007 show, along with a merit award for a pumpjack piece. I have attended numerous demonstrations and taken workshops under Mike Mahon, Fritzi Heron, and Stephen Napper. The latest class was Watercolor I under Midland College’s world re-nowned artist, Warren Taylor. When the Maverick Players had a home theater, I often showed my work in the lobby. We are looking forward to the renovation of The Ritz so that we can stop roaming the prairie and have a permanent place to call home.

I am a member of the Midland Art’s Association and Palette Club, The Museum of the Southwest, Midland Theatre, Maverick Players Theater, along with several business groups such as Business and Professional Women, and actively attend and promote the arts in West Texas. Currently, I work with Whistle Stop Art Studio while striving to balance art, drama, family, friends, and travel.

As a child, I was raised by a stay-at-home mother and millwright carpenter father as one of four children. The heart of my home town is the quintessential New England square comprised of white, steepled church, town hall, library, and flower-encircled water fountain. The elementary school and cemetery are just down the country roads which we walked for special events and celebrations. Memorial Day still includes a march of veterans, antique cars, bands, children on decorated bikes or in patriotic baby carriages. The parade starts at the church and ends at the cemetery where children place flowers on veterans’ graves, recite the Gettysburg Address and sing the Star-Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs. Then the trek is made in reverse where a buffet picnic is served.

I remember having to wear brightly colored clothing during deer season so hunters wouldn’t shoot us while we waited for a bus or played in the yard. The change of leaves in the fall was sometimes unbelievably beautiful with bright reds and oranges and yellows mixed with the green of evergreen trees. My brother and sister and I would sometimes join in with neighboring kids to build leaf forts or create giant piles to plow into! Winters were always a mix of beauty and hassle. The spectacular sight created by iced trees dusted with fresh white snow made sparkly by the sun and breezes just can’t be captured in a photo or even described adequately.  But snow and ice also meant waiting for the plow and sand truck to clear the way, though, and slogging through feets of snow or slippery slush. The high school provided a hot lunch, but we had to walk over to the elementary school and back to get it. Donning pants, boots, and heavy coats and then making the sometimes treacherous trek didn’t leave much time for eating. One time in elementary school, I slipped on a patch of ice and hit my head. When my vision went wacky and the headache from h_ll hit, my Mom decided she better take me to the doctor. A trip to the doctor was a rare event so the situation was serious. He said I had concussion and sent me home with instructions not to let me sleep or use my brain for a day or two.

My father had numerous interests, but the most lasting, is the sugar bush–natural groves of maple trees that can be tapped to produce the sap for maple syrup. The location is now a state park entitled Krug’s Sugar Bush located in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. For years and years, and long before the cottage industries of today, every spring was spent tapping the maple trees, then boiling the sap into thick maple syrup: the real thing, not the combination of sugars and chemicals usually served at restaurants. Any willing kid was put to work gathering the sweet liquid from tree to tree, and either pouring it into a strategically placed dumping station gravity fed to the sugar house, or a big tank pulled by a small bulldozer in our case. Other farmers had horses or oxen. I have lots of memories of trudging through mountainous piles of snow to get the job done. We were usually too worn out for snowball fights, but might take the time to make a snow angel or two.

Sometimes Mom would take some of the syrup and boil it to just the right temperature, then stir it to produce maple sugar. This mixture was poured into specially fluted tins or maple leaf shaped molds. My brothers, sister and I helped package the candy and often would take some to school to sell to other students.

4-H was another big part of our lives. I took cooking and sewing, and raised capons (neutered roosters grown big for roasting). Several Over 10 Pounds ribbons and Largest Capon in the County awards have a place in my scrapbooks or on the book shelves. Entries were always made in the local fairs and the various groups took turns manning the 4-H hamburger/hot dog stand to raise money for the organization. It was amazing how involved we stayed without the cell phone or internet!

Just as George W. Bush harkens back to his roots of West Texas for his work ethic, and high morals, and love of family, so too do I look back on those days growing up in a little rural community centered around church, family, school, and wholesome activities for shaping my character.

“Generations” 2nd place and “Playfully Purple” Honorable Mention - Leonid Gervits, juror

“There Should Be Roses” (Megan)
Show won regional competition then taken to state competition 2001