As exciting and fulfilling as it is, being an artist and a writer ranks farther down the priority list when it comes to who we are. We feel extremely humbled and grateful to be Christians first, then best friends, parents of 12, and grandparents of 7. Jan has been passionate about portraiture for years, while much of that time Gary tried to coax her to illustrate books for him. She finally gave it a whirl nine years ago, and now illustrating consumes much her time and artistic focus. Gary has dabbled in short stories, poetry, skits, and has even been working on several adult books for years; but he seems to have found his voice (for now, anyway) in the tender lines of picture books.
We live in a rural part of Long Lake Township in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. For you vacationers who know the Traverse City region, we're about a mile from Moomers Ice Cream (the best ice cream in America, according to ABC News), across the lake from Boone's Long Lake Inn, and just a short drive to downtown Traverse City, Interlochen, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. We live in a perfect area for painting and writing. We absolutely love all four seasons of Michigan's northern lower peninsula.
Our children all happen to be artistic in various ways. One is a master clockmaker, another an amazing cakemaker. Most of the girls knit or crochet frequently. Several of them love to paint & draw. Our home is filled with live music. Some play piano, others play guitar. Jan and all nine of our daughters have violins (one has a cello), and there's lots of laughter every week as they learn to play together. The girls love to sing in tight harmonies and are working on a CD. We homeschool those who are of school age. Five of our children are married, and so far, six have graduated from high school. We watch almost no network TC, and we don't have cable. The DVD viewing we do is very purposeful. We love to read as a family in the evenings. The most recent books we've read together include "The Hiding Place", "God's Smuggler", "The Hobbit", and several "Narnia" books. We also read short stories together, such as mysteries and Christmas classics. In 2010 we want to read "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Secret Believers", and "The Case for a Creator." We also play a lot of family games like "Guesstures", "Blockus", "Farkle", and "Sardines"..
Our Lord Jesus Christ means everything to us. We are far-from-perfect people with a more-than-sufficient God. We recognize that our talents are on loan from Him, so we try to use our time, abilities, and resources sharing with all who are interested what we're learning of God's wonderful ways and His amazing grace.
All artwork and text on this website are protected by copyright laws. All rights reserved. Copyright 2010 by Gary & Jan Bower 7700 Timbers Trail, Traverse City, Michigan 49684 * 231-941-0899
