Women’s Conference
The emotion and creativity behind the Crandall Canyon Mine Memorial will be discussed by Helper artist, Karen Jobe Templeton, during the morning keynote address at the College of Eastern Utah’s 30th annual Women’s Conference on Friday, April 3 in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center. Theme of the conference is, “Then and Now, 30 Years of Celebration.”
The emotion and creativity behind the Crandall Canyon Mine Memorial will be discussed by Helper artist, Karen Jobe Templeton, during the morning keynote address at the College of Eastern Utah’s 30th annual Women’s Conference on Friday, April 3 in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center. Theme of the conference is, “Then and Now, 30 Years of Celebration.”
The memorial is titled “Heroes Among Us,” and Templeton said it was an honor to create a memorial to the miners of Crandall Canyon. At its dedication, she thanked the family members who modeled for her so she could get the profiles of the miners just right. Standing six-feet tall, the sculpture of the nine-fallen miners can be looked in their eyes and faces. “The soul resides in the eyes.”
An article in the Emery County Progress, quotes Templeton, “The six trapped miners face the three rescuers and a short narrative of the accident is between the miners and the rescuers and is a symbol of how everyone came together and supported the rescue effort. The colors of the rocks represent the mountains and canyons surrounding the community. The monument faces the south so the sun will always warm the faces of the miners. They were ‘Heroes Among Us.’ On the face of things they were ordinary men, but willing to risk their lives. Brandon Kimber threw himself across another miner and saved his life. Gary Jensen was one of the many who went back into the mine with a fracture of a hope that they could save them. ‘Heroes Among us’ is a place we can come and remember.”
Templton studied with sculptors in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Maulevrier, France. She works in a variety of mediums- clay, bronze, copper, steel, aluminum and glass. And, while collectors from Japan to Bulgaria favor her smaller works, she has a passion for monumental sculpture.
Examples of her installations in Utah are at the CEU Prehistoric Museum and Helper Junior High School. She was invited to create a monumental work for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games celebration in Salt Lake City.
Templeton started her career as a nurse. After earning a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from Columbia University in New York City, and a master’s of science degree at the University of Arizona, she spent 17 years in the nursing profession. She helped design the RN program at CEU and taught/coordinated it Then, deciding whether to go on for a doctorate or step away from nursing altogether, she said her husband, Kent, encouraged her to follow her life-long passion for art.
Nursing, often dealing with people in the most intense hour of their need, had given her an ability to “see” people in a way that would vitally impact her work as a portrait and figure sculptor, she writes.
Her gift of capturing the essence of a person through sculpture has been recognized in the art world through a number of awards including: the American Artists Professional League’s Kathryn Thayer Hobson Memorial Award and Leonard J. Meiselman Memorial Award for Traditional Sculpture, in NYC; Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Arts Club’s Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Medal for Sculpture, in NYC; and three awards from the Protrait Society of America, including first place, Portfolio, in Washington, DC.
The afternoon keynote address will be by Rebecca Walsh, Salt Lake Tribune’s columnist. Walsh was raised in raper, Utah the oldest of six children. She graduated from Alta High School in 1989 and continued her education at the University of Utah where she studied political science and women’s studies. After graduation she served a one-year stint as a writer at the Ogden Standard Examiner.
She was hired at Tribune in 1994 to cover Western Salt Lake County suburbs. Her responsibilities eventually led her to covering SLC mayors Deedee Corradinin and Rocky Anderson. In 2002, she took state government beat where she stayed until 2007 when she took over the metro columnist job.
The 30th annual conference features 11 workshops participants can attend during the day long event. Workshops include: Sherri Mills discussing her book, “I Almost Divorced My Husband, I Went on Strike Instead;” Pam Sharp, “Marketing Your Home Business to Make More Money;” Elaine Wood, “Knowledge is Power, Putting finances in Place Before the Worst Happens;” Jan Thornton, “Body Image and How if Affects You;” and Sandesh Kaur (Jennifer Douros, “De-stress-ing Your Life with Yoga.”
Another Author, Lora Akers will discuss “Women in the 21st Century,” while Joel Hatch, representing Zion’s Bank Women’s Financial Group, provides information on “Women’s Financial Independence,” Dr. Karen Radley, discusses “You an Your Skin: a Look at Skin Damage, Aging, Cancer and Laser Therapy;” Carol Castleberry, “Wills and Trusts;” Hank Savage, “Growing Beautiful Flowers and Vegetable Gardens in Southeastern Utah;” and Marie Bryner Bowles, “Taking Awesome Digital Photos.”
The conclusion of the conference features the naming of the 2009 Outstanding Woman of Southeastern Utah at lunch only and the afternoon speaker is $12. Registration is form 8-9 a.m. in the JLSC on the CEU campus. For more information call Dr. Susan Polster at 435.613.5213.
