Creativity always part of Sheila Peters life

Sheila Peters, 57, is a newly retired teacher. Now she has all the time in the world to paint.

She creates her pieces in an ideal workspace. Separate from the main house, her studio has large windows, French doors, and a high-beamed ceiling. Completed last March, it took her husband, Les, with the help of their son, Ben, three years to finish it. “I call it my Taj,” said Peters, “after the Taj Mahal.”

Upon entering her studio, an array of portraits is displayed on easels. One series is of Jocelyn, the niece of a friend. From photographs, Peters manipulates color, clothing and background in order to change the feel of the piece. The series encompasses a range of eras as well as of ages. Jocelyn is 20 in a modern piece and 50 in an Elizabethan pose.

“I like to think of a story behind the pose,” said Peters, “in this one, she looks aristocratic, nervous and slightly uncomfortable, but bathed in a beautiful sunset.” Perhaps she had a rendezvous planned after the sitting?

Living in Grangeville, Idaho, during her childhood, Peters’ family was very poor but rich in creativity. “My mother was a painter and my dad was a carpenter,” she said, “they were quite the pair.” Her father brought home rolls of butcher paper. “Paper and pencils were cheap.” She started drawing people when she was 2.

Peters never felt poor. She always had great stuff: handmade, original creations, clothing and works of art.

“I saw what creativity did aesthetically for our existence,” she said, “and I want that now.” Her father was a scavenger. He brought home one person’s junk and, with her mother’s help, it was turned it into a high-end piece.

In the early ‘60s at East Valley High School, Peters expanded on her artistic nature. She took many art classes as well as music and drama.

She went on to Fort Wright College to study fine arts.

In her mid-20s, using pen and ink and colored pencils, she illustrated four books of poetry written by her aunt.

Marriage and motherhood set in. She eventually went back to school, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and moved into her Valley home. She has taught art and general class studies. She designed the logo for Centennial Middle School and has done other commercial work.

Retired and settled into her studio, she is beginning to follow her true passion: oil painting. Her style is relatively diverse: impressionistic, pop art and very experimental. Still, she doesn’t call herself an artist. “I don’t feel like I’m there yet,” she said.

Her work shows otherwise. Her portraits and figures are filled with life, and her beginning landscapes and lily pads contain the hint of movement.

She gives her father credit for giving her a passion for creativity and the ability to see the beauty in everything. She signs her pieces Sheila Pils-Peters to give some recognition to her family. She plans on teaching classes in her studio and has already committed to lessons for her relatives.

“I’m fulfilling my desire to create. Now that it’s coming together, I can realize my dream and put it to use.”