Local artists create book of fashion sketches

Designer and artist Nanci Williams often watches customers as they browse the merchandise at Purple Pomegranate in downtown Whitefish.

One day a teenage girl came in the store wearing a pink fuzzy hat with little ears, cut-off jean shorts and floral jacket, paired with red and black striped socks and high-top pink sneakers.

Williams took some notes of the outfit and began sketching a picture.

“There was such a look about her,” Williams said. “I thought ‘I have to remember her.’”

After that day, she had a hard time not noticing everyone’s attire as they walked through the store where she works.

To Williams, people and their outfits are just animated life-size canvases walking around the sidewalks of Whitefish.

“It’s people watching on paper,” Williams said.

Williams, along with fellow artist Deb Stika and artist and owner of the shop Ruth Lane, have turned those people-watching sketches into a new book called “The Whitefish Fashion Collection.”

About 15 local artists also collaborated on the project putting their own spin on the sketches.

The book and artwork are part of an artist showcase at the Purple Pomegranate through the end of August.

Williams notices something about each individual that stands out to her. It might be a multi-colored coat, or a large man holding a tiny dog, a couple in matching outfits, or a woman wearing ill-fitting clothes.

“When I see something I draw with whatever I can grab — a ball point pen or a magic marker,” she said. “Sometimes I draw on a scrap of paper with a blue ball-point pen.”

If the shop is busy, she might only get to take down a few notes about what the person or sketch a face. Then later when things slow, she returns to create a full black and white sketch of the person.

Her notes around the page might describe the colors they are wearing or how they acted — a sullen teen or the woman who spent the entire time talking on her cell phone.

Williams’ major focus as an artist has been in graphic design, which included working in advertising, as a signage designer, and she spent 17 years in the graphic department at CNN in Atlanta.

“I’ve drawn and sketched all my life,” she said. “I always enjoyed cartooning. I don’t want to draw a vase — I have to draw people.”

Most of the sketches in her book are of tourists. There is only one drawing that she knows for sure is a person who lives in Whitefish. She tries to limit her sketching of people to only while she’s in the shop.

“When I was first drawing I was thinking of it as just for me,” she said. “I never thought it would be in a book.”

Her first sketch was made in 2009. When her notebook became full of sketches, the three women began talking about using the drawings to create a book.

They invited other artists to chose one or more drawings to render in their own mediums — jewelry, ceramics, painted wine glasses, fabric and painted canvas are among the many types of art created. It was a way for her artist friends to create their own interpretation of her drawings.

Photos of the sketches appear beside photos of the artistic interpretations in the book. Also many of the pages contain an appropriate fashion quote.

Deb Stika, who also works at the Purple Pomegranate, became one of the artist to collaborate on the project.

“I was so thrilled to be a contributing artist,” she said. “It brought these characters to life.”

Stika created several large mosaics based upon the sketches and said she thought of the sketches as real people. Her favorite is “Roseanne,” a very tall woman, who was wearing a large coat made of plaid squares and oversized boots, and carrying a big purse.

“[Creating the mosaic] was a connection to her in real life,” Stika said.

The contributing artists in addition to Lane and Stika, are Betsey Hurd, Jane Kleinschmidt, Louise Barker, Malinda Goldhirsch, Michael diMuro, Paula Greenstein, Sally Askevold, Sally Glutting, Elaine Gutierrez, Shelle Lindholm, Susan Miller, Tim Carlburg and Linda Katsuda.

Some of the artists took the sketch and simply translated it into their own medium. A sketch of “Dinah” shows a woman in her early 40s wearing a patterned top with a tutu around her hips. Williams’ notes say the woman was wearing a red and pink top with white pants. Artist Sally Glutting used fabric to create the woman in a full color version that looks nearly like a copy of the original sketch.

Others completely put their own spin on the feeling of the sketch. One sketch is of an older woman with a poofy white hair on top of her head ringed by black hair underneath. She was dressed in purple and black. Artist Betsey Hurd took that idea and created a sheep sculpture with the same hair style as the woman. The sheep, named “Rowena, is wearing a purple shirt and has on black sandals.

Williams enjoys seeing the different interpretations of her work.

“They added personality,” she said.