our crafters

Adeline Guay
Adie is a self-taught artist originally from the eastern townships of Québec, Canada. She shares time between Montreal and Calgary, Canada and the Utah desert. Years ago, Adie trained in psychology and art therapy.  She strives to connect with the different emotional landscapes of the forests of the east, the west coast mountains and the Utah and Arizona desert. Adie uses a multitude of media for creativity, including painting, to capture the multifaceted dimensions of life, wanderlust and beauty of nature gathered in her travels. 

adelineguayart.com

Barbara Czapla

Barb demonstrates her weaving on The Old House porch from time to time.

Becky Juhlin

Becky was formerly co-owner of a knitting and weaving shop in Salt Lake City. She enjoys knitting socks, animals and wearables. Becky considers her time at home in Torrey as inspiring.

Bernie 'Skydrummer' Wuestefeld

Bernie’s art work began with cutting beautiful sandstone into tiles as a back-splash for a sink project. Slowly, pieces began to come together into different forms…picture frames, table tops, fireplace hearths, bird baths. Later, his landscape art began to mirror the magnificent red rock mesas of this area. “There is so much beauty in the earth.”

Bryce Rubeck

Since 1972, Bryce has used clay and wax to create original sculptures which are then turned into limited edition bronzes. While friends and locals know him as Mike he signs his work “Bryce.” The thing that sets Bryce apart from most sculptors is that he casts and finishes his bronze sculptures himself at his home just outside of Torrey, UT, using the lost wax process.

Diena Riddle

The first time Diena saw alpacas in person, her soul was touched by the spirits of these gentle souls, and was changed. She connects with her Dutch ancestors as she works the magic while carding, spinning and knitting high-end unique, wearable pieces of art. Her alpacas love living in the high mountain area just twelve miles from Capitol Reef National Park. Alpacas are shorn once a year and they gift their fleece. Three times warmer than wool, their fleece is fire retardant and water repellent.

circlecliffranch.com

Emily Soule

Emily talked herself out of majoring in art when she was 20. Then, in 2022, her idled artist started protesting, beating its drum. Refusing to be quiet. Emily is a multimedia artist through and through. Her work is alchemical, driven by forge and fire, and found in subconscious flow.

Gary Pankow

Gary is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, New York. He brought Café Diablo in Torrey to fame as Owner and Certified Executive Chef. He switched careers in 2013, sold the restaurant, and pursued his love for creative sewing, upholstery, and leather work…oh, and to spend winters as a ski bum. The same care, quality, and freshness he brought to his culinary exploits is now found in Gary’s functional and exquisite leather work.

Hollie Tanner

Hollie was born and raised in Salt Lake City. Now a retired school teacher, she lives between Salt Lake City and Loa. Gardening, good food, and travel are among her pursuits. Hollie credits her mother as the person who first influenced her to be "crafty".

JERRY RICHARDSON

Jerry resides part-time in Torrey and explores remote places in search of petroglyph and pictograph panels. In his Torrey workshop, he uses photos to guide him as he reinterprets the ancient etchings in metal using a torch and welder, keeping true to the shapes pecked or painted on stone by the original artists.

pinnaclecanyon.com

Jessie Berggren

Jessie is a metalsmith and business owner who is forever exploring and learning. She loves creating new designs and takes inspiration in everything from nature to literature to pop culture. Jessie is thrilled to be back in Utah, where she was born and raised, and will continue to grow her business, spend time with family, and take lots of hikes.

swoonjewelrystudios.com

Kalene Albrecht

Kalene is a Loa native. She began quilting in 2005 as part of her recovery from health issues. Kalene says, “Non-traditional quilts appealed to me so I pursued the style called ‘landscape art’ and ‘modern minimal.’ I’m inspired by the spectacular scenery of Capitol Reef National Park.” Kalene has 3 children and 5 grand-children. When not quilting, Kalene enjoys riding motorcycles and hiking in the area.

Laura Wang

Laura retired from a career in corporate health management. Needing a creative outlet in the visual arts, she combined her lifelong passion for gemstones as well as the beauty of her natural surroundings. Jewelry design is an extension of her landscape painting roots. Laura utilizes stone, glass and silver as the palette to depict impressions of favorite locations. Each piece is hand rendered, unique and inspired by nature, often using found rocks and repurposed materials.

Lisa Mcgillicuddy Curt

Lisa is a Chicagoan by birth and westerner by choice. The big sky and windswept mesas invite introspection and encourages the imagination. An appreciation for vivid color, shape, and variety is found in her jewelry that celebrates the whimsical.

Lonnell Griffith

Lonnell received his first rock collection when he was 8 and cut his first stone at 13. He was hooked! After high school, Lonnell worked cutting and repairing stone. A career in environmental geology put his work on hold, then he got serious again about jewelry. He uses .925 silver and copper to fabricate a wide variety of items. He delights in "watching the intrinsic beauty in a stone manifest itself as it's cut." Lonnell lives in Bicknell where he fabricates new pieces and is known to repair heirloom jewelry.

Lucien Julian

Lucien Julian lives in Boulder, UT, surrounded on all sides by National Forests, National monuments, National Parks and BLM land. It is a long, long way to anywhere.

When COVID changed the world, Lucien was taking an online class about the journey of the Alchemist. She realized that although the pictures of the alchemical process were interesting, what was riveting were the golden birds. With no goal in mind, Lucien drew her own golden frame and filled it with birds from her home. She has been drawing them ever since.

Each of the birds she draws is one seen in Boulder. They get some crazy migrations.

Lynn Rochelle

Whether climbing trees as a child, photographing them, or collecting intriguing branches, one of Lynn Rochelle’s passions is trees. Years ago, Lynn viewed an entire wall covered in a wood sculpture representing a blue heron. She took a photo, and it inspired her to teach herself how to make art from wood. That led to her choice to represent magnificent animals in wood.

Marsha Chappell

A native of Wayne County, Marsha grew up and returned to live in Loa, Utah. Farm life taught her to work hard and that a handshake and your word was “law.” Her parents instilled a desire to always learn and grow. Marsha enjoys all facets of the quilting experience. The challenge of designing is a special joy. She has been published with her patterns. Her “quilting room” is eye candy for those who visit her home. Marsha made the quilted 'OPEN' sign for The Old House.

Mary B

Mary, Mary quite contrary,

Doesn’t consider herself an artist.

She grows a garden just south of town

And creates jewelry from the harvest.

Melinda Meservy

Melinda resides in Torrey with her dog Bear. Living in the desert and making jewelry connects her with earth’s history and world cultures across eons. Each bead is unique, many handmade, representing the art of an individual maker. Every culture has produced and used beads for adornment, independent of location and origin. Vintage and ancient beads have traversed many hands and lands, serving as an early form of currency. Humans still find power in them—whether the meaning associated with a gemstone or the craftsmanship applied to metals or bone. There is no pretense with a bead. It carries its own history and experience without shouting. Melinda’s jewelry reflects her own creativity, built with tiny building blocks of human history. Long after we’re gone, these same beads may become part of someone else’s art, new and recreated.

Melody Perdikis

Originally from Massachusetts, Melody has always been passionate about the arts and creative expression. This multi-faceted artist works with a wide range of mediums including watercolors, textile arts and silk painting. Melody’s work expresses the moods and emotions of the wild desert plateaus surrounding Torrey, Utah where she lives. Like her work, Melody is a diverse artist with a gift of bringing magic and beauty to whatever she creates. Her art on cards are available at The Old House.

Milada Copeland

Milada is an achiever! She co-authored Meet Zade! is a PADI-certified Rescue Diver, and now is a skilled potter. She took pottery classes during COVID to unwind after a stressful day at work and got hooked on pottery. Milada’s main interest is creating usable wares that people enjoy using. She lives between Sandy and Torrey with her husband and two dogs—a border collie and a herding mixed breed.

Nena Flo Law

Nena passed away on April 5, 2024 at the age of 90. Her charm and spirit lit up all around her much like her artwork! All forms of art fascinated Nena, but watercolor became a favorite. Many have said that she sees colors the rest of us don't. She is missed but her work lives on.

Priscilla Reichert

Priscilla was born and raised in Torrey. She attended 1st and 2nd grades in the “Old Torrey School House,” now a B&B on Center Street. The Old House at Center and Main brings back many memories for Priscilla. Mrs. Lee lived there, and Priscilla visited her often as growing up. The house smelled of apples and was quite homey. Priscilla always loved rocks! Many childhood days were spent roaming the hills of Torrey looking for special rocks and arrowheads. Now gemstones are the love and the jewelry that can be created with them.

Ricky Norman

Ricky was born and raised in Ogden, Utah. He learned the art of knapping from his father. Little did he know this skill would provide peace of mind and lead to a new way of life in his “golden years.” Ricky married his best friend Bonnie in 1999. Together they built their dream home in Fremont, Utah. Ricky gained a passion for knapping and primitive skills. He walks the mountains hunting sheds for knives and flint for arrowheads. Every morning you can find him chipping away in the garage, living his dream.

Scott T. Smith

Scott has been a full-time freelance photographer since 1988 when he quit his “real” job. He and his wife, Mary, lived in their truck and a tent in the backcountry for a year while making photos.

More recently, Scott has made photos of several historic buildings in Wayne County. The wonders of digital photography allow him to make the prints almost look like a watercolor painting. Scott's photos of vintage cars, trucks, and other vehicles, all in various "poses," are a visual treat.

Scotty Mitchell

Scotty’s art springs from looking afresh at the natural world to see its rhythms and flow, shapes responding to each other, colors blaring one moment and singing softly the next. She looks to convey nature’s spirit, its luminosity, creating art that is more than the landscape and can be enjoyed on many levels. Utah’s variety of form and color and immense scale offer a joyous inspiration. Scotty paints on site. For her, being present with the subject is the best way to capture its vitality and spirit.

scottymitchell.com

T. S. Jorgensen

Steve is Utah born and raised. He feels a deep and special connection to Torrey, the Entrada Institute, and Capitol Reef National Park. The varied landscapes and wonders are an inspiration. Steve studied Fine Arts at the University of Utah. He says he is "now retired from over 45 years in Utah's ski industry" and now enjoys "the opportunity to concentrate on artistic endeavors." His lost reduction block prints are unique since there won't be another the same. When the block reaches its final cut, it is "retired."

Toni Wolters

Toni lives in Fremont and has a long family history in Wayne County. Her mosaics include whimsical displays, scenic works, and still-life pieces. Along with her very patient husband, Toni finds recycled cups, plates, bottles, and glass to create her work. Her self-taught work is an obsession she hopes to never get over.

Valerie Oyler

Valerie grew up on the Wasatch Front and visited Wayne County all her life. Now retired, she lives in Fremont with her husband, Jeff. Following in the steps of her grandfathers, Joseph Hickman (Hickman Bridge) and Art Chaffin (Goblin Valley), she and Jeff love hiking in the wilderness. There they find beautiful rocks and petrified wood. The treasures get tumbled for about five weeks each and end up as pieces of handmade jewelry.

Vance Morrill

Vance Morrill has made Native American-inspired wood flutes for a quarter century. He is a graduate of Wayne High School. After working in uranium mines in Ticaboo near Lake Powell for nearly two decades, he moved back to the Morrill Ranch. In 1999, he built the Flute Shop on Utah Highway 12. Vance produces wood flutes from Cedar and Poplar in assorted keys. Ask and he'll proudly give a tour of his workshop.

Wayne Hanks

Wayne makes rope baskets using recycled lariats from ropers he knows and from a local shop. Wayne likes to imitate Navajo pottery forms in his basket designs. Each basket is unique in form, color, flaws and characteristics left in the rope from use. Lariats and baskets are washed and disinfected, ready for use in your home. When he's not crafting rope baskets and antler coat racks, Wayne serves as orchard manager for Capitol Reef National Park.