Back to Full List Untitled Fran Pope Vintage Book, Illustration and Pages; Copper Wire, Acrylics, Glazes and Inks Carrie Crockatt, artist With her numerous interests and achievements, Fran Pope could be described as a Renaissance woman. She was born on an Easter Sunday and grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Fran and her husband, Dan, moved to Issaquah in 1973. She has been involved in many ways in the Issaquah community. Fran volunteered with the Issaquah Community Services in the early years when it was located upstairs in the old theater on Front Street. She was also on the Issaquah Library Board, where she served terms as president and secretary. Fran continues her library connection by working as a substitute librarian with the King County Library System. While a member of the Celebrations Committee, Fran was involved in launching projects such as City Flag contest and July 4th celebrations. Fran has always shared her deep love of music with others. She was instrumental in establishing St. Michael's Music Academy which continues today as The Winn Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to early childhood education. Fran plays second violin with the Sammamish Symphony and the Microsoft Orchestra. She also plays with a chamber group, Sonorous Strings that performs at the Issaquah Art Walks and other charitable events such as Autism Day. She expressed her creativity with words while working for several years as a reporter for the Issaquah Press and writing a short novel which was published in 2005. Fran is currently writing a screen play. Carrie is a self-taught artist from the Mid-West who has used a variety of mediums over the past 25 years. Her latest inspiration has been the discovery of a turn of the century dictionary in an old garage, which she has been using in her mixed-media canvases and altered books. The illustrations are astonishing and are works of art in themselves. Carrie loves the idea of ancient (and not so ancient) writings of those who have gone before us. She also loves the patina that age gives things, including the look of age on the pages from the dictionary. She uses more modern colors to bring the piece into the present. The beauty of the natural world inspires her more than anything else. The thought of the natural world surrounding us being so obvious, but at the same time, so complex and hidden, is also a recurring theme in her work. Carrie chose Fran Pope because of the connection to the library, assuming she loved books and writing as much as she did. Fran is also an author, which inspired Carrie to make her piece very literal, using some of Fran's own words from a number of quotes, sketches, and music pieces she sent to Carrie. Fran also gave Carrie a dragonfly earring to incorporate into the art. As she explained, "The dragonfly is a symbol of one's artistic life. Artists can seldom explain how they create. Like the dragonfly, they are an ancient tribe of wanderers hovering just above their environment continuing in the traditions of their calling." Personal Item: Dragonfly Earring