Ana Li Gresham

My paintings explore the juxtaposition of color and light as they suggest images of landscapes, flowers, and abstractions the celebrate the media I employ.   

Geralyn (Geri) Ostrander Ham, born and raised in rural South Dakota. I graduated from SDSU with an Art Education major and began my teaching career teaching High School Art in South Dakota. I relocated to the west coast where I worked in Early Childhood Education while raising my family. In 2002 I began teaching Elementary Art at Harrah Elementary. Sixteen years of encouraging students to create was a pleasure. During this time, I created engaging Art lessons for students that included the elements of Art and principles of design. We used a variety of materials as well as creating both two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks. I retired in 2018, which leaves me more time to create. I enjoy using watercolor, printmaking, pastels, mixed media and creating hand-built clay projects. My lifelong passion for Visual Art has provided me with a deep appreciation for the creative process.

Born in Yakima, traveled the world for 35 years with a camera, came back to Yakima.

Following retirement in 2015, Mary took up watercolor painting for the first time and joined the Yakima Valley Artists Association to continue her education and experimentation in art. Since then, she has had her work accepted for show at galleries in Tieton, Moses Lake and Yakima and earned Best of Show in the Amateur Watercolor Division of the 2019 Central Washington State Fair. More of her work can be seen at the Chuck Austin Place, Veterans Housing and Supportive Center in Yakima, where three hummingbird paintings are on display. Mary is also a member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. 

My love of art started in the 4th grade when my teacher asked us to illustrate almost every story we read and I realized that was something I could do. I loved drawing and took classes whenever I could, moving on to oil painting. Raising a family of five children kept me busy for some time, however I always found classes to take and challenges to try. I love it all - landscapes to figures, pastel to oil. Our beautiful world gives us a feast for our eyes, and trying to interpret that in a drawing or painting is engaging and sometimes there is a magic that happens. That's what keeps me trying. I plan to keep learning and painting as long as I can.