Artist & Author Bios
Meet the Artists and Authors
Pam & George Koons ~ Rustic Ranch Accents 
Historic Ranch Fence Post Candles created by Rustic Ranch Accents:
The cedar fence posts that these rustic decor candles are created from, are bits and pieces of local heritage. Recycled from Music Meadows Ranch in Westcliffe, CO, the fence posts and the barbed wire are well over 100 years old. Ranching has remained the life and breath of the Wet Mountain Valley since the 1880's. The Valley rests in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Their rugged peaks create a striking backdrop for one of the best kept secrets of Colorado. Your rustic candles represent a part of living ranch history in the unspoiled beauty of the real West.
Phone: 719.783.2149
Fax: 719.783.2149
Email: info@ranchaccents.com
Carol Martinez ~ Picture Perfect Photography . . . “Art is how we express our troubles and pleasures. Art is how we fly.” ~ Carol Martinez ~ 
Carol is an award winning photographer. She is a past president of the Sangres Art Guild, wife, proud grandmother, a great friend and a passionate American. You can recognize her by the three cameras that hang from her neck, the tripod in her hand and the smile on her face. Her amazing pieces are inspired by the mighty Sangre de Cristo Mountains that reign over the landscape, the wildlife and the ranching heritage, that remains as the heartbeat of the Wet Mountain Valley.
Email: custercare@centurytel.net
Robin L. Schwarz - Author/Creative Writer/Cowboy Poet/Performer 
Robin successfully began her writing career after winning“Best Poems and Poets of 2002” , the same year two of her songs were recorded at Hilltop Records. Her unique gift of putting the reader into the actual story and her vast experience in a cowboy, ranch and gold mining lifestyle, has given her many things to write about. Robin is currently working on two novels and continues to write creative personal poetry.
Irene Francis ~ Historian and Author 
Since 1987, when Irene was made chairperson of the Westcliffe Colorado Centennial Committee, she has been interested in the process of researching and preserving the mining and ranching history of Custer County. She has collected documents, photos and made oral tapes of pioneers. From these files, Irene has
written books and created art works of the various sites, in order to share the rich and rustic heritage of Custer County.
Email: stanandirene@live.com
Lynetta Gillmore - Horsewoman, Artisan 
Lynetta Gilmore has been part of the Western horse culture all of her life. She has shown horses and been active in horse training and various youth training seminars. Colorado. Lynetta knows many ropers and has recycled their used lariats into rustic lasso baskets, vessels and a variety of rustic ranch home decor accessories. Her hand-painted signs from recycled barn wood boast a humorous array of cowboy sayings.
Email: lynetta@ris.net
Lynn Chapman - Pastel Artist and Painter - Light...Color...Energy...Emotion.... 
Lynn demonstrates her passion for art with her pastels. She focuses on accentuating the beauty of mankind and nature at its' rustic best.. She likes the versatility, pure color, and ability to convey softness with pastels. Expression of emotion balanced with drawing skills and techniques using light, color and value, are pivotal in her pieces. Uniqueness and variety are qualities exhibited in Lynn’s paintings. As a member of the juried Pikes Peak Pastel Society and Pastel Society of Colorado, Lynn has won many awards including the Latino Chamber of Commerce choice of her painting, “The Storyteller”, for their 2007 Lithograph.
Phone: 719-568-5348 (cell)
www.lynnchapmanartist.com
lynnchapman@att.net
Julie Fritz - Author of Keepers of the Sangres 
Julie Fritz moved to the Wet Mountain Valley in the fall of 2005 from Virginia, where she wrote a syndicated column in weekly newspapers about rural life, a subject she knew well. It wasn’t long after the move that she realized that she knew next to nothing about the ranching West. If she were going to write about life at the foot of the Sangres, others were going to have to help her fill up the pages. The result is Keepers of the Sangres, her first book.
Email: djpfritz@verizon.net
Janel McGuire of "Denim Works" 
Janel retired from nursing 3 years ago and moved to the Wet Mountain Valley. She is a prior resident of Colorado for almost 40 years, also doing stints in Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Cruces and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Janel has been knitting and sewing since a young girl. She is enjoying recycling denim materials into decor items with a western and ranching themes.
Shelley Powell Blessing of Harmony Gift Wrap.com
Western Gift Bags for Sustainable Living by Shelley Blessing & Connie Diaz
The fabric gift bag concept began over ten years ago when we had recycled our paper gift wrap until it fell apart. We decided to incorporate fabric gift bags into our Christmas and birthday wrapping tradition. We 
had such a great response from friends and family we decided to raise awareness about the fragile state of our environment through our ecology-savvy gift-giving. Since then, Harmony Gift Wrap.com as evolved into a meant-to-be-recycled product line, that is easy on the environment. These one-of-a-kind creations are passed forward to new friends and family, rescuing them from the landfills, as the gift bags and wraps bring joy to the recipients.
Harmony Gift Wrap.com is a company that cares about the health of our planet for future generations. We strive to offer and gather ideas and solutions that have a more gentle impact on the way we treat our precious environment.
~Shelling Blessing~
Email: info@harmonygiftwrap.com www.harmonygiftwrap.com
David Mesner, Woodworker in Wildfire Cedar of Cotopaxi, CO 
David specializes in cedar rescued and recycled from the remains of the 2002 Iron Mountain Fire, near Westcliffe, Colorado. During the fire, David and his father were forced to evacuate. Their home remained intact, but the landscape was changed for generations to come.
Integrating nature's art with his own has resulted in unique recycled pieces, sustainable in origin, some still bearing the scars of wildfire.
Tom Carr, Craft Artisan of Pueblo West, Colorado 
Tom specializes in recycled ranch implements, tack and barn wood to create unique Western items. Tom has spent a good portion of his life in the ranching industry and lived in the Wet Mountain Valley for over 10 years working livestock and horses. He now takes the tools of his trade and creates functional rustic ranch decor. His raw materials include recycled horseshoes, stirrups, barn wood, garden tools, as well as, purchased Western motif accents. Tom cleverly incorporates these ranching materials into mirrors, clocks, furniture, candle holders and decorative wall decor.
Sally Harvey, owner of Sangre Glass Works, Westcliffe, Colorado 
A former Project Management Professional, Sally Harvey, PMP, left the corporate world to pursue art. She experimented in stained and fused glass then focused on landscape photography and graphic arts. With the installation of this production kiln in her Westcliffe shop, she has returned to her passion for glass and is now full bloom into the design and fabrication of glass art and architectural works.
Phone: 719-783-0127
Email: sallyeharvey@msn.com
Phred Jahner of Hawk Ridge Ranch, Nathrop, Colorado
What started out as a simple task from my wife, Patty, has turned into a pleasant adventure in the world of hardwood inlay. Her request seemed quite simple; she was looking for a cutting board with a wood inlay that would be a functional kitchen tool, as well as visually appealing, to blend into the décor of her kitchen. After searching for many months I determined that I would need to make it myself. Our wonderful neighbors were so enthused by this creation that they all requested a custom board for themselves and as gifts for their “phriends”. 
My hobby has now become a small business. My product and designs have been featured in Western Horseman Magazine. ~Phred Jahner ~
Phone: 719-395-3523
Email: phred@pcisys.net
www.HawkRidgeRanch.com
Rustic Metal Art | Rustic Wood Art | Western Décor | Rustic Cabin Décor | Rustic Lodge Décor
Rustic Metal and Wood Art | Rustic Western Decorations
