artist

S ituated in the Big Muddy Badlands, just north of the United States border sits the small town of Bengough, Saskatchewan. It was here Crystal was born  – The Year of the Thistles. The wheat crop never germinated and the grasshoppers got the rest. The only hay available consisted of Russian Thistles, which were baled and fed to the cattle later that year.

 

Raised with an enduring pioneering spirit, Crystal is a fourth generation farmer and rancher on both sides of her family. Persevering through hardships as many others have, her ancestors proved their diversity by successfully farming and ranching for over a century. C reating clay sculptures as a child from the “Rocky Ridge” where her great grandparents broke the sod, Crystal started her career.

 

This ridge runs through her family’s land and features buffalo rocks and trails, teepee rings and a Red River cart trail. It was here Crystal grew up to love the land and the animals that roamed it. Learning from and listening to the pioneers that settled the west and helped shape our country, her passion for preserving and remembering western life was kindled. 

 

C rystal has added her life experiences, gained through ranching, horse racing, rodeoing, traveling with Buffalo Bill’s Wild show around the world, and outfitting in the foothills of Alberta, to her vision of western life, transforming her natural artistic talent and this intimate knowledge into authentic and detailed works of art.   Natural works of art by a natural artist.