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Kristy St. Clair
Although a fourth generation Californian on her mother's side, Kristy came to Oregon when she was fourteen. At eighteen, she married Phil St. Clair, the boy she believed would put up with her and her odd family, and in the 1960s they began careers in Portland as hippie leather craftsmen and sandal makers in a craft gallery. Surrounded by older artists from the Beat Generation, the couple's apprenticeship was beyond price, with painters, potters, sculptors, and writers serving as their mentors. They sold their work at juried art-and-craft shows, and participated in group shows as well as two-man and one-man gallery shows.
Then one gloomy Portland day when she was twenty-four, Kristy's father suggested they visit his new cattle ranch east of the Cascades. Phil, a native western Oregonian with the gills required to survive the drizzle, did not see his drowning wife's need to find the sun. But after just one ranch visit, the two packed their leather awls, rolled up their tanned cowhides, and headed to where the cows still wore their skins. They never looked back.
For the last three decades, instead of sipping Pinot Noir at gallery openings they got to hunker sweat-soaked alongside streams after cattle drives, look down from a ridge on horseback and watch a bull elk fuss at his harem, or get spattered with afterbirth while hauling a sluggish calf out from its mother's back end. Along the way, Kristy acquired a college degree at Eastern Oregon University while at the same time driving Phil crazy helping him on the ranch. At some point, she realized writing was the best way to let readers know about Izee as well as the people who have influenced her life.
Kristy's articles have appeared in Cowboy Magazine ("Cowboying in Eastern Oregon," summer 2003), Range Magazine ("The Indomitable Spirit of Kate Jordan," fall 2004), Range Magazine ("Buckaroo Wisdom," spring 2004), American Western Ezine, ("Corral Savvy," 2003), Hallowzine ("Hunting Fate," 2002), and the Blue Mountain Eagle ("The Hunting," 2001).
Blue Mountain Eagle - March 2007 Local authors share experiencesFour local authors visited Seneca School on March 1st, Read Across America Day. Lorene Allen, Kristy St. Clair, Ted Merril, and Kathy Moss talked about writing and reading with groups of students. They each read an excerpt of their own writing, explained what encouraged them to write, and read a portion of one of their favorite books. The students greatly enjoyed the authors sessions. Kelsey Long, fourth grade, commented that she really liked the part in Accidental Cowgirl (Ms. St. Clair's book) in which "Goofy, a horse, ran off with its rider and beat all the other horses in a race." Wyatt Weaver, a third grader, said he learned from Ms. Allen's book of poetry, I Thought I Heard the Clouds Talking, that "Good poems do not have to rhyme, and can be little or big." Kathy Moss recited poetry from her books Cowgirl in the Making and Cowhorse in the Making. Luke Hamner, 8th grade, said, "I thought that it was really cool how you told your poems with your hands moving all around, expressing the poem, and your voice making the poem more clear" Students agreed that their favorite excerpt from Ted Merrill's book, I Only Dress the Wounds, was when as a twelve year old, he stitched up a toad's wounds with a piece of his mother's long black hair and her finest embroidery needle! Paiton Radinovich, seventh grade, commented that she liked the fact that Mr. Merrill writes his books on true events that have happened. Talking with local authors who have written and published brought to life the connection between reading and writing for students, as well as providing an exciting glimpse into the world of books. |
Comments from Seneca students about Accidental Cowgirl:"Very cool...liked the horse racingThe people were funny, too." Justin "My whole class loved that story about Kristy and Phil." Elle Jane "I think Kristy might have set a lot of kids' minds on 'What do I want to be when I grow up?' Well I know she did to me!" Cherise "Kristy is one of a kind." Keila "My favorite part...was when Mushy gave Phil a hard time about yelling at the dog." Jenny |
