- A lifelong resident of Nebraska who loves its wide open landscapes, fabulous sky effects,
fresh clean air and incredible wildlife.

                    "I'm fortunate to have such beauty around me on a constant basis.  This land has a forlorn,  isolated,
                 yet soothing, beauty that is reflected in my paintings.  I strive to create the variety and dynamics of the
                 skies we experience here.
                     My glass art also retains the organic quality of nature.  That something so beautiful as glass can come
                 out of something so basic as sand is like a metaphor for our own Sand Hills of Nebraska. "

Gretchen was educated at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, earning a B. A. in History/Political
Science and dual matriculating in Teacher's College.  Also earning an M. A. in History, she began
a middle school teaching career in Lincoln, NE.  She also taught high school at a private school  in
Gainesville, Florida.  She is currently the 7-8th Grade, multi-subject teacher, & Principal, in a Catholic School.
    An interest in the arts developed and she studied with many Nebraska and National Artists.
Obtaining graduate hours at the University of Nebraska-Kearney led to an elementary
art teaching career for ten years.  Her evolving interests have led her to a variety of mediums
which she shares with students in her continuing Art Camps.  She & her husband have renovated
an old 1904 Barn on their property, and the new "Art Loft" serves as a learning sanctuary for
the creative arts in the community.
    She was fortunate to be selected as one of the Grant Recipients/Participants in the Nebraska
Arts Council "Open Studio" Project where Nebraska artists were taught how to design their own
web site in order to get their art "out to the world."  This web site is a result of that endeavor.

She enjoys the good life in Nebraska with her husband, two sons and their wives, one labrador retriever and one cat.

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Gretchen's glass creations can be found at: Prairie Winds Art Center, Grand Island, NE Pebble Creek Arts & Crafts Gallery, Goodyear, AZ Settles Gallery, Mitchell, NE McCook Artists Guild, McCook, NE Columbus Art Gallery, Columbus, NE Kearney Art in the Park, Kearney, NE  (Summer ) Countryside Village Art Fair, Omaha, NE Email:  oding@cornhusker.net