Three talented students from Fine Arts Professor Rachel Stiffs painting and printmaking classes have created locally inspired artwork that has been used to create notecards that the WNC Foundation will make available to the public for a donation.

This year, fundraising has taken on many new forms and this is one of the ways that the WNC Foundation is working to create new funding for scholarships, emergency student funds and many other things that the college needs to best serve our community, said WNC Foundation Executive Director Niki Gladys. We are so grateful to these very talented students for their amazing contributions to this project.

Marietta Sophie Paul, Steven Rodgers and Sharon Carter collectively created five spectacular prints and paintings that spotlight local destinations, including Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake, as well as artwork of a Tahiti daffodil, pine cones and desert water. Rodgers painting of Lake Tahoe will also be used as the Foundations holiday card. All five cards will be available in packs of 10 for purchase and can be used as holiday gift cards or for use year-round as personal notecards.

Rodgers inspiration to paint Sand Harbor stemmed from his many trips to Lake Tahoe.

This painting of the lake means a lot to me because I consider Tahoe my second home, he said. My family used to take advantage of every warm day and head up to Sand Harbor to enjoy our home away from home. After my father passed away, we dedicated that place to honor him and appreciate the good times. I found myself spending so much time up there that I decided I must paint it!

But finding the right vantage point to paint Lake Tahoe required some huffing and puffing.

Finding myself almost obsessed with the waters edge, I couldnt decide which perspective was superior until I hiked up to the most prominent rock on the slope and saw all of the lake, he said. I noticed that the bridges that were constructed for the new Sand Harbor Trail provided a similar perspective, so the next time I went up to the beach I brought my supplies and the rest is history.

Pauls intaglio print of pine cones provides another symbol of winter in the region since late fall and winter storms commonly bring down many pine cones from the Sugar, Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees. She has spent most of her life working with metal, including a silversmithing apprenticeship in the United Kingdom and an extended career in the jewelry trade before returning to silversmithing. A shoulder injury led her to explore new ways to produce art.

Drawing led to printmaking; linoleum cut led to intaglio, she said. I find myself captivated by the product and challenge of intaglio printmaking. While learning the many nuances of this art form, a large pile of unsatisfactory prints accrued.

Carter contributed her Pyramid Lake and Tahiti daffodil paintings to the holiday gift/notecard collection, creating them in her Art 231 Painting I class.

Sharon is a lifelong learner who very much enjoys attending art classes at WNC, Stiff said. She paints in the watercolor medium as well as oil paint. Sharons grandchildren appear in many of her paintings and are a great source of pride and joy. Sharon is knowledgeable about the Carson City area.

The holiday gift cards/notecards are available for a minimum $10 donation by going to the https://www.wnc.edu/foundation/foundation-shop/ or contacting the Foundation atfoundation@wnc.eduor 775-445-3240.