C&T Publications 50 States of Art - 2015 | Page 106

Lisa Holland-Gillem – Wyoming

I am 49 years-old and live in Cody, Wyoming with my husband and son. I have a
daughter and son-in-law who also live in Cody, and a daughter and granddaughter in
California. My husband and I both retired from California Law enforcement and
decided that we wanted a slower-paced lifestyle, so we relocated to what we consider
to be one of the most beautiful and friendly places in the United States-- Cody,
Wyoming. It is wild, but it is welcoming: since it is 50 miles from the NE entrance to
Yellowstone National Park, Cody caters to tourism. An annual rodeo, called the Cody
Night Rodeo, runs from June 1-August 31 every summer. It's fantastic.

I love to paint, which I do sporadically, and have been doing now for about ten years as the mood strikes me; I am currently working
on a faith-based project where all my paintings are centered around a Christian theme with subtitles translated into Italian. These
pieces are usually gifted to friends when I find the "perfect fit."
I started taking photographs in 2009 as a way to relieve some of the stress I was dealing with at work. My husband retired that year,
and I was still working. The job was becoming more difficult and I found that I wanted- needed- to see more of the beauty in life
around me. The camera lens allowed that to happen. It was a pivotal transition and opened additional doors which enabled me to
approach creativity from a new angle-- similar to painting, and yet removed. The thing I love about photography is that you can
capture life moments forever- a smile, a touch, a glance, a place- and know that it is unique, this one thing or act: something like it
may happen again, but this particular event stands alone.

Website:
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/lisa-holland.html

Here is my piece. It is called A Cold Heart in an Alien Landscape.

The image I am submitting is titled "A Cold Heart" but in reality, the mountain itself is anything but that. The subject of the
photograph (which was edited in Photoshop because the painter still wants to create) is Heart Mountain, and it's unique
appearance can be seen prominently from just about every location within Cody, Wyoming, as well as Powell, Wyoming.
It is part of the Absaroka Mountain range, and was first named by the Crow Indians. Heart Mountain stands alone in a sagebrush
basin and is the most recognizable feature within the Big Horn Basin. For the locals, this mountain represents our town and our
community. Heart Mountain: Our Home.

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