Pat Snyder

My attraction to enjoying art came at an early age. I can recall when I was 5 or 6 years old of the fascination of being able to pick up a pencil or crayon and make marks on paper. It was the fun of seeing the scribbling become a recognizable object or be an expression of feelings.

At home there were always drawing materials within our reach. Many times in the evening, our father who was a professional sign painter would sit us at the large kitchen table and show us drawing techniques. The sharing and doing art activities with my sisters and brothers solidified our understanding and importance of making art.

Throughout my early years I actively involved myself with art. I eagerly looked forward to elementary school art activities and middle school art classes. Outside of school I recall checking out Walt Disney and other books of drawings and would copy to find how they made their drawings.

After high school, I completed three years of military. Then, I started with a strong one year art foundation at Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

It was hard work, but enjoyable, for I was strengthening my skills. There were art classes all day and all week; classes in design, lettering, drawing, figure drawing, and painting. After one year at Ringling, I decided to get a degree in teaching art from Northern Illinois University.

I completed a Bachelor's degree in Education w/Art emphasis and a Master of Arts degree with Printmaking emphasis.

I started teaching at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay in 1968. I made sure students were introduced to as many art mediums, tools and thoughts as possible, going beyond drawing and painting only.

I retired from teaching in 1998 and ventured into full time art making. I continued my desire to experiment with different mediums and themes. Abstract, semi-abstract, and realism wove in and out of my projects.

I work to achieve the feeling of exploration and experimentation with the mediums I have at hand; interpreting the natural and artificial.