Art and Observations
I think of the the association website as a community journal that unites us as Wilderness
neighbors . Each month I will post a
picture and short narrative of one artistic piece. Many are in the book Wilderness Art
and Observations. These will be posted under this new tab entitled Art and Observations.
Jane Ewing
NANCY OLTMAN April 2025
Wherever she is in the Wilderness, Nancy comes upon something in the landscape to
draw or paint, such as the signs posted at an intersection along the Wilderness Trail.
She drew it straight on the paper with a fine ink pen. The date is in the lower right
corner—1992. The montage evolved as families arrived and left. New families have
arrived in the last two years: Rob and Susan Ernst; Bill Hoyer and Jennifer Jones;
Andrew and Lena Koeman; and Gary and Lisa Simms. Welcome to
.
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LINDA VINING March 2025
Oh, my galoshes! Linda photographed boot prints in the snow. Some frozen
forms may melt and eventually vanish but still leave a lasting impression. In
all temperatures, Linda and Paul wander along Wilderness Beach and the
shoreline beyond.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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LARRY BURNS February 2025
While Larry loves each season in the Wilderness, winter captivates him the
most. Perhaps it’s the interlude of hush and stillness which is sensed in the
photograph he took from the Wilderness Beach. Winter’s sleeping white
that colors the landscape submerges everything, hypnotizing and calming
us.
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LYN BULLINGTON January 2025
While walking Lucy along Wilderness Trail, Lyn takes impromptu snapshots
of images in nature that catch her eye along the way. Pictured here is one
that could be titled Ice Water on Tap.
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MATT AND KATHY OLDS-December 2024
The winter tones in the Olds’s photographs are subdued. I named them
shades of polar, whisper, porcelain, ghost, alabaster, ivory, mist, powder,
and pearl white. The snowy woods, dark and deep, recall a Robert Frost
poem. Are the stacked snowballs a cairn or a Zen-like minimalist
snowman? The icebergs hovering ashore captivate and comfort us.
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MISSY MAYER November 2024
Last August 12 when the sky was clear and the northern lights appeared vibrantly, Missy photographed the impressive display from our Wilderness beach. The admiring couple on the shoreline, the Big Dipper, and other solar activity furthered the drama. It’s especially appropriate that this is our November Art and Observations post because the Aurora Borealis continues to flare when the sky is very dark. The Aurora Alerts app reports the occasions of its presence and the locations of this inspiringly radiant show.
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JIM LOEKS-October 2024
GOLD AND ORANGE
Jim painted his impression of a wooded area he and Barrie call “The Old Oak
Valley.” Jim painted “Wilderness End” in 2011.
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TOM KIMBALL September 2024
FOREVER MOBILES
When eleven or twelve years old, Tom spent rainy days in the Kimball cottage
basement constructing mobiles from driftwood and sold them to his neighbors for
the asking price of $2.00. Some have remained for 60 years in Wilderness
cottages. Several are still floating around from the ceiling in their cottage.
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MISSY MAYER August 2024
Missy gave our beach a distinguished identity. Her art supplies were a driftwood
stick and wet sand.
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NANCY OLTMAN July 2024
The Oltman's footpath, like many in the Wilderness, trails over dunes and through beach grasses on its way to the shore. Nancy's sketches and paintings of the Big Lake, dunes, pines, beach, pebbles, and sandpipers, for example, record Mother Nature's presence in the Wilderness and signify PARADISE ENOW.
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OLDS FAMILY CONICAL FRAMEWORK June 2024
The Olds family constructed this driftwood tepee on their beach in June 2018.
Erosion caused it to collapse in 2020. Undaunted, they build another. We can
identify their tepee as the Olds family’s beach dwelling.
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