Shirley Mary Dimke was born in Vulcan, Alberta and grew up on a wheat and cattle farm in the heart of the untamed Canadian prairie. Her early years were filled with the animals and family members she loved. Horses, perhaps her favorite playmates and companions, also pulled the buggies, and sleds, and other once-common, horse-drawn, farm machinery that survive today only in rare museum exhibits. It was an idyllic childhood in nature's classroom, close to the earth, and the sky, and filled with echoes of voices of the pioneers, who had carved a life out of this pristine wilderness.
In mid-childhood, her world changed suddenly, when her parents moved to a small town in Washington state, trading the tranquility of the countryside for the conveniences of the city. Shirley 's energy and talents, combined with a unique spectrum of youthful experiences, helped her adapt well to urban life in unexpected ways. Having been able to overhear the lessons of older children and interact with them in the tiny, one-room, schoolhouse on the prairie, gave Shirley exposure to advance subjects at an early age. As a result, she excelled in American schools academically, as well as in music, and art. And, the physical challenges of rural farm life helped to catapult her to success in athletic competition.
Yet, the vivid images of her youth were never far from her thoughts. As a wife and mother, she began to re-create a share with her family the lifestyle she once enjoyed, at her ranch on the edge of the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Over the years, her barnyard has been home to every imaginable farm animal, fish, and fowl. Even today, you'll find her sharing a trail ride with her grandchildren or traveling with her husband back to the beloved prairie, where, for her, life began.
"It's difficult to explain", Shirley says. "But, with a passage of time, the visual memories of my life as a young girl somehow grew in intensity, and color, and detail...in three dimensions." Those who have seen her sculpture know that her hands succeed, with astonishing descriptiveness, where words fail. Her delicately creation of the timeless, priceless experiences and emotions, from a kinder, gentler past are preserved as lasting heirlooms for generations in her Memories and Bronze.
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