Project preserving Bannock County’s artistic legacy

It’s hard to walk through Peggy Anderson’s house and not see one of her dad’s wooden carvings. He’s the reason art continues to be a big influence in the Anderson family.

“I used to sit and watch him carve. One day I must’ve been too talkative, because he handed me a piece of wood and some paints and told me to paint it,” Anderson said. “Both of my daughters are artists, too.”

Outside of the family, though, people don’t really know of her dad’s artistry. It’s why she plans to showcase his work through the Pocatello Art Center’s Legacy Project.

The center got the idea for the project after featuring old artists’ work with the Portneuf Valley Audubon Society. After seeing that many families like the idea of seeing old artwork, the center decided to continue doing it mostly because most of the people they feature aren’t really known artists in the community.

Aside from an exhibition, the artist’s work and biography are archived in a DVD to keep for future reference. The project chair, Barbara North, said the work deserves to be seen.

“If it’s only kept with the families, then nobody else will be able to see it,” North said. “To bring it out and have a DVD of it so people can see it – you never know where that’s going to go. A child who sees it could be inspired.”

Anderson said it means everything to know people are going to see her dad’s work.

“For our whole family, it’s an appreciation for what he did and art in general,” she said.

If you have any names of artists you think should be featured in this project, you can call the Pocatello Art Center at 208-232-0970. Here’s a link to their website as well.

The project is focusing on artists who are no longer with us, but will feature living artists in the area in the future.