Barbara Williams – “Without words to express important childhood experiences, visual art became a lifeline of communication for me.” Mrs. Fagan, 5th grade teacher at Couch School, engaged her class in art projects which inspired young Barbara Williams and, she has continued to practice art since. Sixty years ago Couch School did not have art for junior-senior high students, but a move to St. Louis her senior year proved to be Barbara’s fortune. Each day’s schedule was filled with painting and drawing, sculpting in clay, casting jewelry in silver and throwing pots on a potter’s wheel! Barbara’s work is inspired by her love of the Ozarks and her Oregon county upbringing. She encourages growing participation in the arts throughout our area and, would love to see more opportunities for adults and children, especially in the visual arts, where handmade items marketed could also be an economic boon. Art degrees from SMS, (now MSU), Springfield, and SIU enabled Barbara to teach art from elementary through college levels. She enjoyed 30 years as adjunct art faculty at MSU, West Plains, but more important to her always was making art. Her work has been shown in international and national printmaking exhibits; national watercolor exhibits in Watercolor USA, Springfield Art Museum; numerous one person shows in Springfield, St. Louis and West Plains. The focus of her work has been, in a broader sense, rural America, but of the Ozarks in particular, of Oregon County and of her family in particular. Rock buildings made from the abundance of Ozarks rock reflect strong qualities of those who made them. Twenty years ago Barbara began a series of paintings and photographs on these wonderful structures with a plan of doing a picture book. The book is not complete but along the way she’s had art exhibits, slide lectures, two Ozarks Public Television programs in early 2000, “Ozarks Native Stone Architecture” and “Rocky Road: Ozarks Native Stone Roadside Architecture,” a couple of magazine articles and a webinar, “Written In Stone” from OTC in Springfield. ALSO, several years ago she had a show on rock buildings at the Alton Library!

Karen Crews Bridges grew up on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks. Her mom, a hobby painter, inspired in Karen, a passion for all forms of the Arts, especially singing. Karen realized her love and talent for art as she would draw while her mom painted. As a young girl, art was mostly a private passion to practice at home. Karen and her husband, Doug have a hobby farm named Dolly Brook Ranch. They have sheep, a llama, alpaca, and a little dog, Ollie. Their animals are loved and cherished members of the family, providing great joy, and inspiration for Karen’s art. In recent years, Karen has developed a passion for nature, livestock and pet photography. In it, she finds peace in an often chaotic world. Some of her photographs include the elusive Shawnee Herd of wild horses. She has a small art business, Designs by Karen, selling prints of her own paintings and photography, as well as, different types of commissioned paintings including, pet portraits, landscapes, home places, memory portraits, murals, and saw blades, and farm/livestock/pet photography sessions. She also collects and sells a variety of vintage and seasonal items.

Tammy Curtis, a native artisan , resides in the Eleven Point River region of the Missouri Ozarks. She creates unique, wearable and giftable art; necklaces, bracelets, earrings, boot jewelry and more. Each is one-of-a-kind and cannot be precisely duplicated. Perhaps more than anything else, Tammy enjoys gathering materials while floating the river or walking in the woods. She finds beauty and art in almost everything, gathering shells, rocks, wood, homestead glass or, other natural objects to use in making exclusive pieces of art. In the summertime, she even collects wasp nests from the eaves of her house. She hopes to create pieces that “SHOCK, WOW and INSPIRE.” She enjoys designing and creating custom memory or, conversation pieces. Nature is her canvas.