Born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western
North Carolina, Doreyl grew up drawing birds in the dirt of the mountain roads
around her home. Receiving her first art award in third grade, Doreyl
subsequently won the South Carolina State Art award for teenagers, a purchase
prize at Furman University and an art scholarship to the University of South
Carolina.
Later, in California, while achieving a Bachelor of Fine Arts
and a Master of Arts degree in Biological/Medical Illustration, she garnered
more awards, this time in science as well. She received awards in anatomy,
physiology and microbiology, and "The Best in the West Illustration Award" three
years in a row. Her dreams became a reality as she worked in about every
artistic venue-- storyboarding for films, owning her own design &
advertising agency (specializing in logo design) through which she won the
Zellerbach Logo Design Award and other design awards.
During this time
she exhibited her works of fine art in group and individual shows at the
Smithsonian Institute, the Pentagon, Air Force Exhibitions in Washington DC,
University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles Museum of
Science and Industry, Long Beach Art Museum, University of California at Irvine
and at traveling art exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the
country.
Since coming home to North Carolina, she cofounded Catch the
Spirit of Appalachia, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to honoring
the heritage and creativity of all people. She and her sister, Amy Garza, author
and storyteller, have facilitated creativity workshops and performed
(storytelling and spontaneous visual art) for millions of children and adults in
schools and colleges. Doreyl’s spontaneous art murals are being placed in
museums & public places throughout the world.
Co-author of "Catch the
Spirit of Creativity" and author of her own book called "Greatness in a
Nutshell," Doreyl’s books help people explore their unique creativity and follow
their dream.
Today she and her husband, Jerry Cain, continue to design
logos and brochures for business, a new line of inspirational greeting
cards, matted artwork and are creating a nature preserve called
"Nature’s Home."
Amy
Ammons Garza, Author & Storyteller
Writer. Everyone is unique.
As a
local writer my service is a homegrown resource with a seventh generation view
of Western North Carolina and it’s people. My joy comes from writing articles
that help readers to understand the uniqueness of the area, to care about the
subject(s) of the article, and to inspire readers to seek out the business
represented.
Personal Concept. The flame in the dark is the breath of story lighting the way from one
generation to the next. It is up to each of us to pass along and keep the flame
burning.
The heritage of our great area has now become the driving force
of a huge tourist industry. What people want is authenticity... the real
story. They want to read and hear stories about those who have started with
little, struggled, persevered and accomplished a dream. These are the true
heroes of our times. This is why I write.
Amy Ammons Garza, Writing
Bio
Amy began writing at age 39 in 1981, studying with Professor
Charles Tinkham, completing 8 years of creative writing at Purdue University
Calumet. Winner of over 30 awards for short stories, personal essays,
children's literature, poetry and novels, including four first place awards for
"Novel-in-Progress" through Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, she was a
columnist/associate editor for 14 years for Transport Fleet News, a trucking
magazine in Chicago, IL (Circulation 11,000). She is currently the Editor
and a columnist for Fun Things to do in the Mountains, a travelers tabloid
serving Western North Carolina (circulation 50,000). She is Editor/Graphic
Artist for Ammons Communications in Sylva, North Carolina. She is a past
editor for Skylark, the fine arts publication for Purdue University Calumet in
Hammond, Indiana. Her articles have appeared in EQ Magazine,
Skylark, Arts Indiana, Right Here, The Hometown Magazine, Now and Then, Healing
Network, Appalachian Heritage, The Alumni Courier, The Good Old Days, and
Potato Eyes. As a visiting artist and lecturer, Amy has worked in Indiana,
South Carolina, Illinois and North Carolina for sixteen years.
Amy's
first book, Retter, A Novel of the Mountains (Winston-Derek, 1988) is
based on her grandmother's life and is now in its third printing. Her
second novel, Cannie, the Hills of Home (Mountain Lights Publishing,
1991), now in its second printing, is the story of her mother. Her first
storytelling CD is called"Blue Ridge Mountain Stories.”
Matchbox Mountain (Bright Mountain Books, 1994) a book of short stories based on
her mountain heritage, and it's accompanying workbook, Catch the Spirit of
Creativity (Bright Mountain Books, 1994) are Amy's third and
fourth published works. Book five, I Am Somebody, (Ammons Communications,
LTD, 1996) deviates from Amy's normal historical fiction. Based on the
true story of a young Appalachian man, Tony Queen, the book is is an
account of his life, with 15 interviews of those who knew him before and
after his tragic death at the hands of seven "friends." Book three in her family
series, Sterlen, and a Mosaic of Mountain Women, (Catch the Spirit of
Appalachia, 2005) gleaned from her heritage in the North Carolina mountains has
now been released as her sixth book.
Within the last three years Amy has
produced three major plays: "The Spirit of Appalachia," which played at
the Appalachian Cultural Center for 25 shows in 1999; "Strong Comes
After," played at UNC in Asheville for the Western North Carolina Women's 2000
Convention; and "The Trail of Light," depicting the linage of Christ is a
multi-denominational pageant completed six years in 2004 at Christmastime on the
campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. In 2005 The Trail
of Light Drama Committee premiered her new play “Mary, Did You Know,” and it
played once again in 2006.
