About me, Kay Ekwall

I am a fourth generation transplant, my great-grandparents having settled here from Sweden. However, I am a "Heinz 57" variety; Swedish, Irish, Scottish, , English, Dutch, French, Italian, Welch, Norwegian, Finn, and Cherokee, plus other bits and pieces. I am investigating my ancestry. My mother's parents came from Oklahoma, and my grandma was born in "Indian Territory". The Perry family is mentioned in the Cherokee listing of applications to the rolls and there is one family listed. There are also applications with the surnames of some of the other of my great-grandparents names there. Maybe someday I will be able to track it all down. I have a teaching credential in art which I received in 1989 at Humboldt University in Arcata, California. .

But, I then returned home and substituted a bit, and then got a job in advertising for the Valley Post Newspaper in Anderson, California. I worked there for two years and taught students privately in my spare time and loved doing that.

In 1993 I moved back to Mt. Shasta, and in the fall of 2003 I moved to Oregon. I was fortunate to catch the famous "Billow Clouds" on the Mt. Shasta, on October 1996 and then in 1997 started selling photocards in the local shops, earning just enough to keep buying film and developing it.

But that made me go back to my old films and get them developed..(yes I am one of those). I found that I had some pretty cool pictures....and then there was no stopping me.I carried my camera everywhere. I stood out in the cold one day on a hill, with wet head and caught pneumonia taking pictures of the mountain. .I guess we photographers are die-hards, anything for a great photo. I taught my son the rudiments and he got the fever too. We lived in the greatest area to take super-spectacular pictures and I know many people who are doing that there too.....so people get quite the treat when they come to that little town. I suspect they are also wishing to see the mountain "put-on-a-show" just for them.

A few of my other endeavors. I am just a jack-of-all trades in the art fields: paintings, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, photography, poetry, author, crafts, etc.....and have fun doing it all, just wish I was twins so I could do more of it.I have also illustrated the covers of two published books by Michael MacPherson. Another great love of mine is poetry and am working on illustrations for some children's books. One book I wanted to create and publish one of these days would be called "Songs, Seasons and Scenes of Mt. Shasta", filled with photos of the mountain, and the flowers around the mountain and also poetry and songs from myself and others.
Kay Ekwall