Uncommon Talent

For an isolated fishing village in Southeast Alaska, Hoonah has attracted quite a number of people down through the years. In the forty three years I've lived here I've seen a pretty diverse group. Some have come to give, some to take and some to try and hide out. There has been no shortage of transient folks, people who've come to take jobs at the cold storage or on fishing boats and in recent years filling the jobs at the cannery in the tourist industry. Once in blue moon we are graced with an individual of uncommon talent, such as the young lady pictured above. Her name is Christina Baal and she's a professional artist. She has a strong interest in birds and a desire to paint all ten thousand species. I hope that she lives long enough to see her passion fulfilled. I first saw an exhibit of her talent when I was working in the Forest Service building. The top photo of the Sockeye Salmon shows an example of her work. I was immediately drawn to it, in part because I love fish and fishing, and in part because of the vibrant colors.It's my understanding the she whipped it out in about two hours in response to a request for a design for the annual fishing derby. That she could do it that quickly is incredible, but what is truly amazing is that she's able to pull off such a work of art on a piece of plywood located under the stairs at her apartment. What I find even more fascinating, is that she sells her work for so little. I can't say here what she gets for each piece she does, but I do know that anyone, even a tourist looking for a bargain can easily afford to buy a print from her. I believe she's hoping to set up a little sidewalk stand this summer to pedal her goods,and she's agreed to carry my books as well, which I'm delighted about. Because of her talent, I fully expect to see an increase in sales. When I dropped by to see her today, she was almost done with the print in the middle. She's taking it with her to Philadelphia,I believe to display in an Audubon show. Her talents aren't limited to drawings or paintings.  When she found out that I loved hoochies, she got on line  and downloaded some pictures of them and put them on a button for me. At the time she had no idea what hoochies were. Frankly, I used to think that people with a degree in art were pretty much wasting their time. You always hear about starving artists, but Christina has managed to carve a niche in the art world that allows her to follow her dreams and put her talent to work. I recently checked out her web site and was blown away by her paintings. Her passion is birds, and she's able to capture them in an exciting and unique way. I hope you'll take a look at her web site. It's -drawingtenthousandbirds.com 

If you find something you like, or just want to say  hi, please contact her at 

drawing10000birds@gmail.com

I think you'll be glad you did.