Meet the Snowman Stroll artists - Chrissy Pruett
Artist Biography:
Chrissy has always been interested in art from a young age and has spent her whole life working on becoming an artist. Chrissy is not only an artist, but also an art teacher for children and adults. She spent many years teaching art for Sweetwater County School District #1 in Rock Springs, and continues to teach art to students in Lander at Gannet Peak Elementary and at the Lander Art Center.
Chrissy’s artwork is inspired by Wyoming’s beautiful and abundant flora and fauna and our western way of life. Her favorite media to use is colored pencil and watercolor in her professional work. She has also painted many murals found in Rock Springs and in Laramie, Wyoming. Public art, to her, is one of the most important additions to any community, and she is overjoyed to create art for all to enjoy. Chrissy frequently sells her work and competes in art competitions and quick draws all over the state.
Chrissy lives just outside of Lander, Wyoming with her husband, Evan, and their two children, Kodi and Calvin. When she is not creating art, Chrissy is out enjoying the beautiful Wind River mountains with her family and her animals.
Artist Statement:
Chrissy Pruett has 2 snowmen featured in the Stroll. This one, "Winter's Gift," comes from a true story. Chrissy's grandfather, Bob Wilmetti, owns a ranch, Sweetwater Gap Ranch, high up in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
Throughout the years, her grandfather would adopt wild horses from the BLM in Rock Springs to use on his ranch as guest and pack horses. One of those horses he adopted was a firey mare he called "Dot" due to her having no markings, except for a small dot on her forehead.
The hear he adopted Dot, she was expecting a foal. Usually foals are born in the spring and the early summer months, but this one was due in the fall. As the winter was coming in, and Chrissy's grandfather was getting ready to close up the ranch in October, a huge winter snowstorm blew in. As luck would have it, this is the time Dot's foal decided to make his debut. He was born in the middle of that October snowstorm in the willows by a frozen creek, away from the warm barn.
Chrissy's grandfather saw the newborn foal from the window in his cabin through the thick blizzard. He went out to get the foal and carried him in his arms back to the barn, Dot following the entire way. Chrissy's grandfather called the colt Zero as he had no markings at all and being born in a snowstorm, he thought the baby had zero chance of survival.
The colt went on to live and became one of the best horses they ever had on the ranch. He lived to an old age and spent many years teaching the kids to love horses as much as Chrissy's grandfather did. Zero was one of Chrissy's favorite horses so she was inspired by his birth story. He was a tough horse and his birth story is a true tale of Wyoming grit.
Downtown Rock Springs
603 South Main Street
Rock Springs, WY 82901
(307) 352-1434
www.downtownrs.com
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