Genece

When Genece was 5 years old, her father saw exceptional talent in her doodles and, much to her displeasure, he required her to draw from a large book of drawing lessons every school night. Fast forward 13 years and many drawings later, Genece was awarded an Art Grant by the McCormick Foundation that would fund her art classes at Clark College. She happily took drawing, pottery, sculpting, painting, graphic design, calligraphy, and more. Years later, she was surprised to learn her calligraphy instructor designed the Backyard Bird Shop logo. From craft fairs to art galleries, from personal projects to commissioned work–Genece has done it all. She describes herself as spiritual and says her faith has always been a big part of her busy life. In addition to holding a part-time job and creating art, Genece is raising three grandchildren. It has been 23 years since Molly, one of our founders, convinced Genece to draw for Backyard Bird Shop. She saw Genece’s business card and a drawing of an old pair of boots tacked to a bulletin board at Hewlett Packard. Genece reports that Molly called her and said, “If you can draw boots realistically, I know you can draw birds.” Molly was so right!