Siobhan Elder

Growing up in the Grand Tetons as the daughter of a professional photographer honed my artistic view on the world from birth. Small schools with ample art opportunities led to obtaining a degree in Fine Arts from Montana State University, a fabulous ski area/higher learning place for a Jackson Hole girl to land.

     Mid college my mother died and I took a year off to explore life on the eastern seaboard in a high mileage 1973 Volvo 1800ES, tools and duct tape at hand.  On my way from Boston back to Montana I veered thru Florida and met Sue McFall, silk painter, and my course was set.  I finished my degree and then returned to Florida to apprentice myself to Sue, painting silk, doing large-scale art shows, and finding my own style.  I returned to the Tetons working as a photographer on the ski mountain for 3 seasons, spending the rest of the year doing art shows from Calif to Texas and establishing my business as a fiber artist. 

     Along the way, I met Mark, a potter, fell in love and ended up moving to Laguna Beach as he was not ready to come to the Rockies.  We showed at the Sawdust Festival along with every established show in the west.  I began finding gallery representation and doing wholesale shows and the phone started ringing.  Within 3 years Mark had fallen in love with fly fishing and skiing during our trips to the Rockies.  I had a cancer scare, we decided the wholesale end of the business could withstand a move, we bought a small house in Bozeman where we lived happily until cancer took him when we’re 35.

     I moved back to Boston and participated the top art shows on the Eastern seaboard for several years until the WEST called and I returned to the Tetons, acknowledging that many of my top NYC clients had homes in Jackson Hole and would find me there while I skied real snow and returned to my beloved mountains.  When the doctor told me 2 new knees were required if I wanted to keep skiing, I decided it was time to come to the coast and I landed on the Mendonoma coast where I’ve been joyfully painting since.

     My passion is putting scarves on the heads of our sisters going through chemotherapy, Empowerment Thru Accessories has blossomed thru these desires, covering the heads of women while empowering those learning to paint scarves.