Storyteller Artist Categories

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Tammy L Toj Gajewski

Ceramist; Craftsperson; Mixed Media Artist; Painter; Poet; Storyteller; Teacher/Instructor

At a very early age Tammy’s mother encouraged her creativity and supported her exploration of poetry, drawing, painting and animals. She attended university and learned the base of oil painting, ceramics, fiber arts, French translation and welding. She had one job after graduation related to fine arts and was fired after helping the owner buy a Matisse painting from the family; because her French translation skills were no longer needed. After 42 years in the blue collar work force which included 23 years with the Department of Corrections she retired to do art full time. Her therapist stated that the mere act of creativity will help moderate her PTSD, keep her depression at bay, and help heal the tremendous loss of family. Today Tammy has made her own family, loves her two career changed Leader Dogs for the Blind, practices meditation in the Thick Nhat Han tradition, and has her own studio to paint and create in on Lake Superior. Her wife of twenty years tells her often to go to the studio and Tammy returns refreshed and vibrant. She has shown her work at several shows in the Upper Peninsula over the last twenty five years and hopes to have her first gallery exhibit in 2023. Her pen name is Toj- Teacher of Joy- given to her by her art mentor John Fritz in high school and later by her college mentor Keiko Hara. Besides it is much easier to sign than Tammy Lynn Webeck Pasko Gajewski.

Charli Mills

Author/Writer; Storyteller; Teacher/Instructor

Charli Mills grew up out west, once winning a rodeo trophy for tying a goat. She’s the executive editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology (Vols. 1 & 2) and her writing has been featured in Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, Keweenaw Now, BadRedhead Media, NaNoWriMo.org, The U.P. Reader, and on stage as a guest storyteller with the Red Jacket Jamboree. Charli writes women’s fiction, recovering forgotten voices from the fringes and frontiers, including the Copper Country. In 2014, she founded an international literary community at CarrotRanch.com, hosting weekly 99-word story challenges. She provides outreach to rural communities, libraries, and veterans to make literary art accessible. She coaches writers in a unique cohort program, leads nature writing workshops and retreats, and teaches college English at Finlandia University. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing.

Amelia Pruiett

Author/Writer; Illustrator; Media/Visual Communications; New Media/Technology; Storyteller

I have drawn as long as I could hold a marker, and have formal art training via an Art & Design minor from Northern Michigan University. Despite several decades of drawing and creating, I have only recently focused my creative energies into a sustained project. I’ve always been inspired by nature and have found a delight in capturing the incredible intricacies and diversity of details. I love to nature journal and humanize the scientific. I grew up as the co-pilot of my father’s Cessna 172 and have dreamed of the freedom of flight ever since. All of this considered, my pursuit of winged things began. I hope to create a portfolio that catalogs the many shapes, sizes and colors of our feathered friends and some fascinating facts about them along the way. As a hunter, I am blessed with the opportunity to study upland birds and waterfowl up close. The way their iridescent feathers gleam with the sun and the astonishing complexity of God’s glorious creations. I am using a process known as digital drawing. An entire studio of colors and brushes to choose from right at my fingertips allows me to take my work anywhere. While I sometimes miss the tactile scratch of charcoal on paper and patiently mixing the correct shade of paint, the artistic process still applies to digital drawing and presents the opportunity to master new skills. My work is currently available at Amelia’s Craft Market and Boutique in downtown Marquette, MI.

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