 Esther Cass was born and raised in Greeley where
she graduated in 1976 from the University of Northern Colorado with BA degrees in Art, Spanish and Education.
Teaching brought her to Trinidad in 1978 where she spent 30 great years teaching Art and Spanish at
Trinidad High School. While teaching, her work was her students. Upon retirement, she started looking
for something "fun" to do with her talent, which includes commission work for portraits, murals in homes
and businesses, and recently was commissioned to paint ostrich eggs. She works in pencil, pastels, oil,
scratchboard, and does award-winning fiber work. Esther has also illustrated children's books, and she
has had works in pencil, pastels, bronze, and mosaic accepted in several juried shows.
With the holidays rapidly approaching, she wanted to create a personal gift for friends and family
but was looking for a unique idea. While watching holiday television last year, Esther saw a program
about ornament painters from pre-Hitler Germany. The idea took root and grew from there. Her paint box
of acrylics opened up and she was off, experimenting using unbreakable balls in many sizes and colors.
Each ornament is one of a kind. She has several basic ideas built around local themes such as Fisher's
Peak, Simpson's Rest, Morley Church, Trinidad Lake, Stonewall, the Spanish Peaks, and others. She also
paints special requests with subjects such as ranch brands, ranch scenes, animals, pets, cartoon characters,
birds, wildlife, landscapes, semi trucks, and special houses to name a few. Christmas themes and images
are also popular.
 There are many challenges painting on a round surface to avoid distortion, and making the image appear
as the client envisioned. Esther loves having people bring her ideas for their "special" ornament and
creating that unique gift to make a holiday memory. Lori Lyn's at 105 West Main Street in Trinidad carries
some of her smaller ornaments with assorted themes. Ornaments can be ordered by contacting Esther directly,
or are available at several of the holiday craft fairs in the area. Special ornaments can take more
than 15 hours to complete, so if you're looking for a custom design, be sure to order early! Prices
for hand-painted ornaments start at $10.
Contact Esther at (719) 680-9979 and leave her a short message so she can call you back to discuss
creating a special memory just for you!
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