Rosie McGowan never gave up on her passion for art even after she found herself drawn into the corporate world.

Four Corners Arts Forum

Rosie McGowen always knew she was an artist beginning at the age of 11 when she created remarkably sophisticated paintings and drawings. Although she had support for her art as she was growing up, she eventually found herself with a career in the corporate world managing businesses and as a consultant to leaders and start-ups. In her family she was the youngest of five children and at the age of 30 she was finally introduced to the man that she hadn’t known was her real father, different from her siblings. Interestingly he turned out to be a true creative making her wonder if creativity and a passion for art could be biological. Rosie first moved to the area in 1993 as a single mom where she joined a community living in a yurt for 3 1/2 years in Bayfield, Colorado. Still having the itch to pursue her own passion for art, she took classes at Fort Lewis College in Durango with Mick Reber who taught studio art there for 30 years. Eventually she helped manage Mick’s business which included getting two of his large sculptures installed in town and the concrete, labor and bronze plaque donated. Her own art unfortunately continued to take a back seat and her creative spirit died. She continued to do the work though by asking the question “what are my true passions” but for so long there was no answer. However it was only a few months ago that she finally had her breakthrough! Her inspiration came from the skull of a buffalo which she used as a medium to add beads, shells and other decorative items honoring the life of the animal. After showing the photographs of her creations to gallery owner Jackson Clark he enthusiastically commissioned one new skull a week to exhibit and sell at Toh-Atin gallery. Now business has taken a back seat and she happily spends time creating art in her studio. She has found her passion again after much searching and never giving up and she would pass that wisdom on to young and emerging artists.