In
1960, first-grader Heather Wallis was disciplined by her teacher
because of her “overactive imagination,” and the experience
squelched her desire to color outside the lines for years.
Her creative urge smoldered, though, and when she took some
basic art classes as a college student 15 years later, things just
clicked. She
considered studies in art, but followed her science muse instead and
did drawings and paintings to please herself.
Not
yet a college graduate, she started work in 1978 with the Forest
Service as a Young Adult Conservation Corps crew leader on the Lake
Wenatchee Ranger District in the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth,
Washington. After
a permanent job offer from the Forest Service, she decided to finish
her college degree and intermittently attended the University of
Washington in Seattle to obtain a B.S. in Wildlife Habitat Management,
minoring in Forestry, and also taking some art classes.
She received her degree in 1991.
Heather
Murphy has worked for the Forest Service as a Wildlife Biologist on
the Lake Wenatchee and adjacent Leavenworth Ranger Districts since
1979. She
has built a life and a home with her husband, Patrick Murphy, also a
Wenatchee National Forest employee, focused on family, friends, and
the Cascade Mountains that surround Leavenworth.
She works to manage and conserve the plants and animals of
these wild mountains, and she celebrates them through her passion for
capturing wild things and their habitat in her notebooks with
sketches, paintings, and observations.
For
the past six years, Murphy has used her creative talents to build a
business selling her artwork.
In 1997, a Leavenworth shopkeeper saw a color photocopy of some
of her paintings and sketches, and urged Murphy to sell some in the
shop. Since
then Murphy has grown her Walleye Cards business to annual sales of
15,000 cards throughout the western U.S. and nationwide.
She has shown her artwork in group and solo shows in eastern
Washington and Seattle, and is currently working on a book.
And she still works for the Forest Service.
Women
in Natural Resources:
How did you get started with the Forest Service?
Heather
Murphy:
I was a Recreation Guard near Yakima, Washington in 1974.
The next year I got a job with the Forest Service counting
spruce bud worms, and moved north to the Wenatchee National Forest.
I had several short-term jobs after that with the Soil
Conservation Service and the Forest Service, and then started with the
Lake Wenatchee Ranger District doing Young Adult Conservation work.
In
1979 I was offered a job as a permanent employee as the
Wildlife-Wilderness-Cultural Resources-Range technician at the same
district. Over
the years, I went back to school at the University of Washington to
finish my Bachelor of Science degree.
Jerry Franklin was teaching at the University then, and he was
a real inspiration [Professor Franklin has been a ground-breaking
pioneer in the whole-ecosystem approach to land management].
I also took some art classes while I was there.
WiNR:
What kind of art classes did you take?
Murphy:
I took figure drawing.
That was in 1984 and 1987.
I had completed coursework through my junior year by the time I
dropped out of college in 1974 and received a Forest Tech. degree from
a community college in 1977.
By the time I went back to U.W., I took advanced drawing
because I’d already completed some basic art classes at the
community college.
WiNR:
It must have been exciting to take classes in the art program
at a major university.
Murphy:
It was! They
usually don’t allow students who are not art majors into their
upper-level classes.
I had to bring in my portfolio for review.
They accepted me and then placed me where they thought I should
be, in the flow of the program.
It was quite an honor.
Art
classes were a really nice break from the rest of my program of study.
I was taking all science courses except for art.
Twice a week I had a 4-hour studio class, plus my homework.
I loved the break from science-oriented forestry and wildlife
classes.
WiNR:
Have you taken any formal art training since graduating from
U.W.?
Murphy:
I’ve taken some workshops.
For example, a recent innovation on the Wenatchee National
Forest, the Watershed Art program, brought 14 internationally-known
artists to the Wenatchee River watershed to raise awareness of how
unique it is. I
was involved in the program and worked with the Forest Service to help
publish a booklet about the project.
Artists Robert Bateman, Tony Angell, and Art Wolfe came here
with this program.
Some artists, like David Barker of New Zealand, gave workshops
while they were here—it was so cool!
My
early watercolor training came in 1993 when my sister, Barbara Wallis
Kerwin, a college arts professor in Los Angeles, sent me my first
field sketchbook and a selection of paints and brushes.
I would paint wildlife scenes and send her color copies for a
critique via phone and letter.
She was eventually satisfied with my progress and now can just
celebrate with me, rather than be my teacher.
Another
artist, Dan Tuttle of Leavenworth, has also provided me with some
casual instruction in exchange for a good bottle of wine!
I was also lucky enough to take a terrific weekend course,
“Art and Poetry of the Wild,” taught by Tim NcNulty and Libby
Mills at the North Cascades Institute in Sedro-Wooley, Washington.
So, I have benefited from the instruction and assistance of
many colleagues and teachers, and feel fairly confident in my
technical abilities.
WiNR:
When did you start selling some of your artwork?
Murphy:
I started in 1997 with just a few designs on cards I made
myself at a local copy shop.
I sold them at a few stores in Leavenworth.
But the color copies cost $1.50 each to produce then, so I
didn’t make too much profit!
WiNR:
Are
you to the point yet where you need to declare income to the I.R.S.
from your art-related business?
Murphy:
I got a business license in 1997.
Each year since then I’ve sold more cards than the previous
year, and I’m diversifying and growing the business.
But so far, I only get to declare my losses!
I’m also working
on a book proposal and it includes a marketing strategy for a New York
City literary agent.
I graphed out my yearly sales.
In 2001 I sold 15,600 cards, and two years before I was only
selling 7,300 cards, so I am continuing to grow in sales.
WiNR:
Where do you sell them?
Murphy:
A third of my sales are from my website, www.wildtales.com, and
from workshops and art shows.
Another third of my business is with museums, lodges, outdoor
stores, gift stores, and bookstores, both local and up and down the
West Coast, along the I-5 corridor from Oregon to the Canadian border.
I work with a wonderful card distributor who covers north
central Washington for me, and I handle the business from other stores
along the coast. My
distributor is a great marketer, but also very polite and works so
well with even the smallest stores.
Our philosophy is that the customer really needs to walk away
happy, or don’t even sell anything to them.
The last third of
my business—the most noteworthy third—is my relationship with the
Northwest Interpretive Association, a group that works with National
Parks and National Forests.
Through them, I sell in shops in Olympic National Park, North
Cascades National Park, and many National Forests in Washington.
Lately I’ve gotten some national distribution through the
Association, too.
WiNR:
This sounds like a lot of work: taking orders, putting orders
together, preparing them for shipping, getting them in the mail.
Who does the work?
Murphy:
Just me and my
husband. My
card distributor does a lot of the work for the local region.
But anything with the mail—that’s me.
Oh, we do get some help occasionally: house guests may be asked
to lend a hand now and then!
WiNR:
Do you have seasonal highs and lows?
Murphy:
Yes, May for Mother’s Day and spring enthusiasts, July and
August for summer travel, and Christmas is really good—actually,
October and November.
WiNR:
Your business sounds pretty extensive, but you still haven’t
made a profit yet?
Murphy:
No, because the printing costs are high, and I have diversified
my line of cards each year.
Right now I spend between $10-20,000 a year for printing, which
includes my new Wildtales Journal.
Other costs are mailing supplies and postage.
So, no profit yet, but the business is paying for itself.
My plan is to make a profit as I move into second runs of some
of my cards. I
guess if I quit doing brand new designs, I’d make a greater profit!
WiNR:
You do new designs each year?
Murphy:
Yes, I now have about 80 different note cards, postcards,
bookmarks, reproduction prints and journals.
But I want to keep my line of cards fresh, and I am always
studying, sketching, and painting, wherever I go.
Last year I was in Ireland and was able to make some wonderful
studies of plants and antiquities.
WiNR:
It
seems that the exposure for your cards in so many shops will
eventually bring customers to you who want to purchase original art,
or even prints. That
would bring more of a profit for you.
Murphy:
That’s
true. We
currently have cards in about 50 stores and I sell directly to
customers from everywhere through mail order.
Most of my art is contained in my sketchbooks, but I have been
building a body of work—original paintings—that is offered for
sale through gallery shows.
I’m considering posting images of my original artwork on my
website to offer them for sale to customers who cannot travel to
galleries in Washington state where I show my work.
WiNR:
Do you see your business as just a sideline?
Or are you thinking of growing it into a fulltime business,
possibly as something to do when you retire from the Forest Service?
Murphy:
I really like crossing over into both worlds, the science and
the arts. So
for the near future, I am happy to continue with things the way they
are. I did
a Goal Statement when I first started my business in 1997.
My goals when I first started were: to inspire others to learn
more about nature; to provide affordable art; to encourage people to
“get out in nature”; to travel, study, and draw for my work; and
to have fun.
My
financial goals were to cover the expenses of building a garage/studio
for our house, and to be able to work on a reduced schedule for the
Forest Service. I
had hoped to make enough profit to pay for a garage out-right, but
instead we recently took advantage of low interest rates available
with loans these days.
Just
producing paintings was not something that interested me because
selling original paintings would put them out of the reach of most
people. Printing
cards from my sketchbook work allows someone with just a few dollars
to have some of my art.
I’ve
been able to travel with my art as I’ve been asked to go to
different places to put on workshops.
That’s a lot of fun!
And when I travel for pleasure, I always do sketches and
paintings. My
art provides a special connection for me to the places I visit.
It helps me to see a place with a vision different from that I
would have as a tourist.
Doing my art when I travel slows me down into these places, and
makes me really learn about the animals and plants I observe.
I’ve traveled and sketched in Ireland, Scotland, Hawaii, and
Malaysia. The
artwork I did in Ireland last year and in Hawaii the year before will
eventually make its way onto cards.
And,
I love that my work is special to other people, not just me.
I get some great letters and emails.
I got one letter from an elderly woman who saw a painting I did
of a bouquet of wild flowers in a canning jar, on the cover of a
magazine. She
wrote that she kept looking at that painting:
Your
picture of the yellow flowers lay on my counter for days & every
time I went by it I thought, “I wish I could draw like that.”
One day it dawned on me that I had never tried, so I picked up
a pencil & paper & drew those flowers, you know I did a pretty
good job for a seventy-five year old lady.
Your article makes me more aware of the beauty of nature and
our world.
In
another letter I received the ultimate compliment:
I have a
friend dying of pancreatic cancer.
She’s a real nature lover, so I make a point of sending her
one of your cards each time I write.
She enjoys receiving them so much!
It makes me happy to know that I’m sending something that
gives her such pleasure.
WiNR:
Your work really touches people.
Murphy:
Yes! I’ve
heard from others who have told me how my work reminds them of when
their grandparents took them out to the woods to watch birds or
identify plants. There
is a connection there: from my work, to feelings for viewers about
younger days, when life was simpler.
I
especially like seeing my work get people out—they go out hiking,
they go out in nature.
My printer in Seattle tells me that a lot of their workers have
been inspired from seeing press sheets of my art to go hiking and
camping. This
is really rewarding for me.
But I can’t believe it when someone tells me how honored they
are to take my classes!
No way!
WiNR:
It’s terrific to hear about these responses from people who
have seen your work. I
know this must be important for you.
Can you tell us about your new book?
Murphy:
Last fall I was able to self-publish Wildtales Journal,
a spiral-bound sketchbook with a few pages of instruction on field
observation, nature writing, and field painting and drawing.
Each section includes simple nature journal exercises for the
reader to do; “Identify 10 plants,” “Write about wildlife
behavior; what time of day do they feed and what are they eating?”
and “Select
a leaf, draw its shape, its venation, and how it’s arranged on the
stem.” My
book is selling pretty well, so I am developing a larger book concept
that will include wildlife stories, more of my artwork, and more
instruction.
WiNR:
Have you ever considered writing a book that just provided your
wildlife observations and artwork, without the instruction part?
Murphy:
Since
February 2003 I have been writing and illustrating a monthly column,
“Wildtales Country Journal,” for a small northwest magazine.
I have been encouraged by response to my column and I’m
considering pulling them together for a book.
Originally, I started working on such a book back in 1996.
Then I attended a writers’ workshop and met professional
writers and literary agents who suggested to me that the instructional
book was more timely, so I’ve been working on that idea for a while
now, which is how Wildtales Journal evolved.
In 1999 my Forest Service position got a bit more complicated
when two Ranger Districts I was working on merged, and what little
extra time I had was devoted to painting and to growing my card
business. The
book project got shelved for a while.
About
a year ago we got another Wildlife Biologist on staff for the Ranger
Districts and I was able to reduce my work schedule—I’m now
working about 60%, and have been able to turn back to my book
projects.
WiNR:
It must be helpful to have new personnel to share the workload
with.
Murphy:
Yes, it’s great to have new folks on the District.
Many of us have been here for a long while, and some are
“trauma-bonded.”
It’s good to have a fresh perspective among us.
WiNR:
What do you mean by “trauma-bonded”?
Murphy:
The Chelan County forest fires of 1994 had some devastating
impacts on our districts.
Then, two years ago we had employees on a fire crew that
sustained fatalities while fighting a fire on the Okanogon National
Forest in the north central Washington.
It’s been some tough years for our districts, but it does
seem like we are moving ahead.
In
1999, we had two separate Ranger Districts (Lake Wenatchee and
Leavenworth) and three permanent Wildlife Biologists between them.
By 2000, we combined the districts and also had some personnel
changes. The
result was a reduction in the permanent staffing for wildlife
biologists. All
of these changes left one permanent wildlife biologist working on the
combined districts—me!
So,
I had my work cut out for me to keep all of our programs going and
build new programs that we needed to meet requirements, as well as
supporting new partnerships in our area.
One of our biologists came back from maternity leave and we
were eventually able to hire some new permanent personnel.
So now we have a well-staffed work force and I’ve been able
to reduce my work schedule.
WiNR:
Is the spotted owl still a big part of your workload on the
Wenatchee National Forest?
Murphy:
Oh yes! We
still go out and call for owls, and I still help sometimes.
Staff at the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Wenatchee
Lab [U.S. Forest Service] are beginning a study of spotted owl and
barred owl interactions in our area.
But right now my main work focus is on wetlands restoration,
songbird conservation, partnership development, large landscape-scale
projects, and several fire recovery projects from the 1994 fires and
2001 fires.
WiNR:
What were the acreages burned in those years?
What kind of land base are you working on with the recovery
efforts?
Murphy:
We had 225,000 acres burned in Chelan County in 1994.
Of that total, approximately 120,000 acres were on the
Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee Ranger Districts.
Then, in August 2001, a big lightning complex came through and
started dozens of fires that grew into a 7,800-acre fire.
Many people, including my family, were evacuated from our homes
in both 1994 and 2001.
Now we’re implementing monitoring plans so that we can keep
track of the effects of these fires on different species of wildlife
and plants.
Another
interesting response to these fires is happening in my neighborhood.
A group of neighbors, including my husband and me, have joined
together as private citizens to apply for a grant to reduce fuel
hazards on our lands and lots through pruning and thinning a
3,000-acre “neighborhood.”
I’ve
also been working with ski areas in our districts; delineating
wildlife corridors around and through the ski areas.
We have identified riparian corridors, worked on lynx habitat
connectivity, and identified elk wallows, talus/meadow habitat—that
kind of special wildlife habitat.
These areas are delineated on maps and will be used in
long-term planning.
So, when the ski area plans an expansion of ski runs, they will
know ahead of time to keep development away from these sensitive
wildlife habitat areas.
Many of my colleagues from other areas of the West have told me
that they truly wish that this kind of planning was in place 20 years
ago where they work; I’m excited to be part of this work in the
Cascades.
And,
our work with spotted owls is a constant.
We monitor owls on our district by calling for them—a human
imitates their hooting call and they’ll answer back, if they are
there. We
can find owls in that manner and note where they are.
By going back over a period of some weeks, we can get a clear
idea of their home ranges and the areas of the forest they are using.
Murphy’s
dreamed-of studio over the garage was still not a reality when I
visited her home in Summer 2002, though their new studio is now
complete. She
showed me her work space in the house: she used a guest bedroom to
store her card stock and to prepare orders for shipping; she stored
many cartons of cards in her basement; and she used her loft-office as
a studio to complete paintings from sketches she does in her journals
out in the forest and fields.
WiNR:
Do you get orders for sets of cards, or individual cards?
Murphy:
Both. Businesses
might order 12, 20, or 100 of individual designs, and a complete order
can total 36 to 500 cards.
Individuals who order from my website will get sets of six, or
sometimes just order
individual cards.
I
have copies of all my current images here in my home, including cards,
journals, bookmarks, and post cards.
Each box holds 400 of each card.
I have them organized in boxes and I also have wire racks with
singles in them. I
have all my packaging supplies handy to prepare the shipments.
WiNR:
What kind of mailing services do you use?
Murphy:
I generally use Priority Mail when I send to individuals.
WiNR:
That’s expensive!
Murphy:
Yes, it is, but it’s also one of the quickest ways to get
orders out to customers.
Because my time is limited by my job with the Forest Service, I
usually make only one shipment per week and I try to use the quickest
method to help balance that.
I think I’ll get the investment back eventually—I really
believe that. I
think if I treat my customers well, I’ll be rewarded.
WiNR:
How do you choose among the images from your sketch books to
select the ones you want for a card?
Murphy:
I find a theme, one that means something to me.
I have one here that I call “Cinco de Mayo,” because I
painted it on May 5, and the bright colors of the chair I painted
reminded me of Mexico.
The back of this card has hummingbirds on it; these bird
species had recently migrated from Mexico on the day I painted
them—so all of these images came together for me, to help honor the
Hispanic community in our valley.
WiNR:
You must have an extensive collection of sketchbooks!
Murphy:
I do. I
am now working on sketchbook Number 20!
Besides my own sketchbooks, I have a collection of other
artists’ and naturalists’ journals.
Some of my favorites are:
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, 1473 to 1515; Thomas
Moran, the Field Sketches 1856-1923; Days on Sea, Loch and
River, Muriel Foster 1913 to 1928; and Charles Burchfield’s
Journals 1911 to 1965.
My sketchbook collection goes back 10 years, and my journals go
back much farther.
They are part of my life.
In
my sketchbook from 1994, for instance, I painted some sketches as the
wildfires came toward our house.
I wrote, “The sound of one hundred freight trains, Friday
night, July 29, 1994.”
I remember vividly what it felt like as we drove away from our
house that night, not knowing if we’d see it again.
But we did.
And
a few days earlier I wrote in my notebook about a family in the Tyee
Fire north of here that had to leave their home as the fires advanced.
They couldn’t find their cats, and had to leave them behind:
The
farmer comes back for the household goods and pets.
Kitties aren’t to be found.
Flames are swiftly approaching, smoke filling the air, the roar
of the fire is deafening.
The way out is soon to be cut off . .
“move out fast & save yourself.”
Two days later back at the farm.
The house, the barn, the out buildings all burned to the
foundation. All
surrounding trees incinerated, it was hot, it was fast.
Call for kitties, look for kitties, look for kitty remains.
So sad, no kitties, too sad, what probably happened to them?
One day later.
Neighbor 6 miles away calls
.
. . one of the kitties made it safely.
It out-ran the fire.
It has 4 singed paws, but is alive and well.
A hero kitty . . . run kitty run.
WiNR:
Do you always take your sketchbook and paints with you when you
go out in the field?
Murphy:
Not when working for the Forest Service, of course, though I do
take an official field journal with me, always.
On my personal time, though, yes!
I have a small paint set that I take with me everywhere.
I had this paint set with me on my six-week trip through
Scotland. I
traveled there during May-July 2000 and volunteered with the Highland
government. I
worked with foresters to help reclaim their ancient forests.
I provided some ideas for managing high recreation use on top
of Ben Nevis, helped take down sheep fencing in a wilderness area, and
searched for loons.
WiNR:
How did that come about?
Murphy:
I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland.
I planned to go since I was a teenager, and applied for a
Rotary International scholarship, but didn’t get selected.
So, that dream got put on hold.
But I knew that someday I would get there.
Twenty-five years later, I started searching for a way to
travel there in a professional capacity.
I started with an Internet search for information on natural
resource agencies in Scotland.
I found information on the John Muir Trust and arranged to
volunteer with them on trail rehabilitation.
They soon found out that I had professional experience with
wilderness management with the U.S. Forest Service, and they asked me
to work with them on land management issues.
Also,
I met a Scottish antiquities expert through mutual friends.
They ended up visiting Leavenworth, and stayed with us in our
home. We
talked about my background in forestry and wildlife management, and I
found out then that our visitor, John Hutchinson, was the head of the
Lochaber Highland Council.
He helped make arrangements for me to do some volunteer work in
Scotland. Because
of my acquaintance with John, I got to go to many wonderful sites that
the average tourist never sees.
I had to take boats or hike in to many of these spots, and I
was rewarded with seeing so much wonderful wildlife and wild places in
Scotland. I
got to go to the Isle of Eigg and help count Arctic Terns, and that
was a true highlight for me.
Most of my time with the Council staff was spent learning about
their forestry issues, though.
I assisted them with planning for habitat connectivity, and
planning on a landscape scale.
WiNR:
Do you only paint in the field?
How long do you spend on each sketch?
And finally, what are you working on that’s new?
Murphy:
I do most of my paintings in the field, and then finish them up
at home. I
have a lot of field drawings and paintings.
I spend about 15 minutes on a quick pen and ink sketch.
Paint sketches might take a little longer.
Finishing a painting can take me two hours or twenty, depending
on the intricacies.
Sometimes I note my sketching time in my journal, and you might
see such notes on my cards.
I keep at least three journals at once:
one is for field work; one is for serious painting projects;
and one tells the story of what’s going on in my life—whatever
catches my eye.
A
year ago I became intrigued with the Lewis and Clark expedition, and
how they recorded what they encountered on their journey through
paintings and drawings.
I’ve been trying to replicate some of William Clark’s and
Merriweather Lewis’s drawings.
I want to get the flavor; to really understand how they saw
things. I
finished a few sketches for some new cards for Christmas 2002.
I’ve also branched out into a new product line, nature
journals—my Wildtales Journal.
WiNR:
Thanks so much for sharing the details of Walleye Cards with
us. In
closing, what do you think is your key to success?
Murphy:
I just try to have fun, while working hard and doing the best I
can. I want
to give the greatest effort and achieve the highest quality work I can
in both my wildlife biologist job and in my art, but I try not to take
myself too seriously in either.
I find my artwork is a great bridge for me between natural
science and art, and it’s fascinating to have a foot in both.
My Walleye Cards is a mix of both worlds, and focuses on a
simpler way of looking at life.
I find that art helps me truly appreciate the natural world.
I believe nature holds so many of the keys to this
ever-changing life, if we would just listen.
Visit
Walleye Cards on the web at www.wildtales.com to see Heather
Murphy’s full line of cards, bookmarks, and journals.