FROM BIG SKY

No 29
2019
 Signatures from Big Sky
In October of 1990, Shirley Olson and Del Siegel from AGATE and Jan
Clinard from MATELA discussed the need for a student literary and
art magazine in Montana and then later convened with seven other
educators at the MEA Convention in Bozeman. Three goals emerged
from the collaboration:

• To provide an opportunity for young

Montana artists and writers to publish
• To make it a publishing experience, striving
for excellence, not a contest
• To provide a resource for teachers and
students in classroom work in the arts
And thus began Signatures from Big Sky, the only publication dedicated
to the work of Montana’s K-12 artists and writers.The work displayed
in Signatures has shown what it has been like to grow up in Montana
over the last 29 years, in small towns, cities and ranches, from foreign
exchange students, fifth-generation Montanans and Native students
whose ancestors go even further back than that. The perspectives are as
unique as the art and writing itself and we are proud to share them.

Mandy Maass is in her third year as the editor of Signatures from Big Sky.

ON THE COVER
Ben Ryman
Rose Red Star
Colstrip High School 10th grade
St. Labre Indian School 12th grade Space Ball marker
Dandelion clayboard tinted with ink

ii Signatures from Big Sky 2019 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 iii
 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 is made possible Keira Imhoff
by the contributions of the following:
Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade
Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education (MT AGATE)
The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation Red Tall Tree
NorthWestern Energy
So much depends upon
Town Pump Foundation The red tall tree
Its leaves bright red
Shopko Foundation
Sprinkles of rain drops
And trick-or-treaters
Thank you for your dedication to the arts and education in Montana.
Knocking on doors

Peyton Hill
Power Schools 12th grade
Grandma’s Rooster acrylic

We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited
in Montana’s Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund.

Layout and Design by Lan Weisberger, Design Solutions

Edited by Mandy M. Maass

iv Signatures from Big Sky 2019 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 1
Arieannah Allphin Zoey Tobar
Burlington Elementary School 4th grade Power Schools 7th grade
Sing antonym diamante
Sing
Anger Heartfelt, Powerful
Listening, Touching, Hearing
Anger, it’s so interesting. Scream, Cry, Love, Admonishment
Red, fire, spicy, it blinds our eyes. Hurting, Yelling, Scaring, Scolding
The music is night on bald mountain. Mean, Loud
It smells like red, red, hots, makes our noses red. Talk
It feels hot an bubbly and spiky, like a hot soup.
It tastes like sour, spicy, coal candy.
It hides and lives in a volcano
And comes out – when it’s time. Alyson Leach
Chester-Joplin-
Inverness Public
Schools
5th grade
Jazzmyn Ewing Colorfield
Power Schools 9th grade watercolor
Mischief scratch art

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Shelby King Nick Maruska
St. Labre Indian School 9th grade Power Schools 10th grade
Freckle Face pen and ink Fall Tree in Silk dye on silk

Hailey Hay My Soul

Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade Sidney Baker
My soul moves
like a bird, Power Schools 7th grade
gliding Rocky Mountain Front acrylic
through the clouds
looking for food
My soul has been seen
at a beach
swimming, diving and surfing
The water in my hair
I could stay there forever
My soul dreams
of going to Paris
eating wonderful food
Laughing with my friends,
staying up late
I’m having a great time
I hope
it will never end
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Sierra Piano Maggie Toeckes
Sievers Power Schools 8th grade
Power High Each time I touch the keys, my fondness for piano soars Eye of Caballo pointillism
School As it proves to be my friend every time I sit down to play.
A myriad of music, from classic to popular, I explore.
10th grade
Until the rhythm is polished, on the piano bench I stay.
When I begin to play, the notes take a new form.
My hands build chords and run across the keys.
Forte notes pound powerfully like thunder in a storm.
Piano notes trickle and roll like soft waves from the sea.
Minor or major key, the piano still makes me feel content.
Some songs make me happy, like a loved and trusted friend.
As I finish each note and rest, I know it was time well spent.
I lift my hands off the keys when each song comes to an end.

Rueben Fallsdown
St. Labre Indian School 12th grade
In the shadows reduction block print

Ranveer Maan
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 2nd grade
Troy watercolor, crayon resist

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Jaxon Buffington Brooke Burley
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 3rd grade Powder River County
Coil Pot ceramic District High School
12th grade
Jadyn watercolor

Makaila Cannon Going on a Hunt

Hillcrest Elementary
The black sky howls with fierce balls of fire Nicholas Widhalm
6th grade
The king of night prowls all about Power Schools 10th grade
All the owl says is who? Who? Elk pencil
But no one answers
There is no sound
But pat pat pat as we walk a ton
We’re going to hunt an animal tonight
My tail rips through the tall grass
As we pass by a birds nest
The Alpha roars over the land mass
We’re going to hunt an animal tonight
We found our prey
Now it’s time to hunt
It’s the end of the day
We’re going to hunt an animal tomorrow
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Trent Sturgill Talyah Medicine Horse
Power Schools 7th grade St. Labre Indian School
Rivers 10th grade
Beadwork picture frame
Water sparkles blue
Crisp frigid flowing liquid
Slowly moving mud

Rose Woods
St. Labre Indian School 11th grade
Deer pastel

Tatum Trefts
Hillcrest Elementary
5th grade
City Boy pencil

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Lily Kemmer Jasmine Cole
Colstrip High School 9th grade Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools
Colorful Pancakes acrylic 12th grade Flowers oils

Rachel Rasmussen
Powder River County District High School 9th grade Kyla Mansfield
Mixed Media Horse watercolor, acrylic and marker Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 10th grade
Looking Through the Eyes of a Wolf charcoal pencil

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Richard Rhodes Saige Bachteler
Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade Chester-Joplin-
Inverness Public
Silence Schools 5th grade
Pinch Pot Turtle
Silence is Sculpture ceramic
the stairway to heaven
that you walk upon
to see the man himself.
Silence is
the Grim Reaper’s cry
when his dearest friends
pass on.
Silence is
a funeral
where you honor
those who died.
Silence is
the outer space
with zero G’s and galaxies.
Veronica Schwalbach
Micki Kilyanek Power Schools 11th grade
Colstrip High School 11th Grade Oso scratch art
Summer Days printmaking

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Wren Clum Abigail Dudley
Central School 5th grade Colstrip High
Master Me School 12th grade
High Heel
You can be the master wire sculpture
of a phone. You can be the
Master of an ice cream cone.
You can be the master of yourself,
be who you want to be.
You can a master of a car.
You can be a master of a tree,
but you can’t, can’t, can’t
be the master of me.

Lacey Alivia Standish

Robinson
Colstrip High
Powder River School 12th
County District grade
High School Rose
9th grade printmaking
Self Portrait
watercolor

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Allie Eaves Ashlyn Sutton
Power Schools 8th grade CS Porter Middle School 8th grade
PRIDE colored pencil
Siblings
Or make him cry.
We are siblings. I’ll be there,
To pick him up -
I am the older sister.
Dealing with that little demon. Everyday.
They call him human, Why you might ask?
But I doubt he is. Because he is my brother.
I can yell, And only mine.
And be bossy, So I will pick him up when he is down.
When he argues, No matter how angry
And doesn’t seem to listen. I can be
But if today, And we are siblings.
You call him names, Forever and always.

Anissa Vallie
St. Labre Indian School
6th grade
Cheyenne beaded doll

Charlie Small
Colstrip High
School
11th grade
Infestation
photography

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Aubreigh Stone TJ Bearchum, Jr
Hillcrest Elementary 6th grade St. Labre Indian School 10th grade
Cheyenne beaded and painted knife case
Muffled and Shuffled
The day before school, I played outside
I played in the snow with Tommy Dubai
We built a snowman
It came to life
We all went to bed at the end of the night
I woke up the next day with a sneeze and a sniffle
No school for me because mom won’t let me shuffle
Soup and sleep, a day of muffle
6:00 a.m.
I’m good for school
But now I have homework
A big load, which comes with a jiggle
I guess I would rather shuffle then muffle
No more play in the snow with Tommy Dubai forever and ever
Because now, he will not be shuffled
He will be muffled!
Amaya Frost
Aumri Brinson St. Labre Indian School 12th grade
Landscape pastel
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools
12th grade Flaming Cup ceramic

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Violet Rehm Spencer Lehnerz
Power Schools 7th grade Power Schools 9th grade
A Hawk’s Eye pencil

Grass
Little strings of green
Wiggling in summer breeze
Trying to escape

Tommy Woods
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 11th grade
Leaf Lady ceramic

Tyler Miller
Hillcrest Elementary 4th grade
Puzzled Cat oil pastels

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Molly Nelson Brady Smelser
Chester-Joplin- Power Schools 11th grade
Inverness Public Prairie Bison acrylic
Schools 10th grade
Lion Eye
charcoal pencil

Savannah Weaver
Powder River County
District High School
9th grade
Geometric Flowers
colored pencil and Ink

Kiah Ontivero
St. Labre Indian
School
12th grade
Star Quilt
fabric

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Blake Johnson Avery DeVries
Chester-Joplin- Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 3rd grade
Inverness Public Native American Portrait tempera paint
Schools
3rd grade
Flower Painting
watercolor

McKenna Dudley
Colstrip High School 12th grade
Chain macro photography

Brant Striet
Power Schools
11th grade
Fall Traveller
scratch art

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Ben Lehnerz Ryder Backen
Power Schools Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools kindergarten
11th grade Ink Blot ink
Grizzly Alert
pastels

Caleb Wheatley
Colstrip High School 11th grade
Flaming Bowl ceramic sculpture

Meredith Hall
Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade
Gifts From You
You gave me a horse You gave me a doll,
brown and soft old, tattered, colorful
Swiftly gliding I keep it on a shelf
through the field. and bring it down
Comes home every Christmas
every year You gave me a necklace
You sent me the smell ancient, silver and gold
of your hand The fire swept through
sweet, luscious and brave taking my importance
You gave me your glove The necklace burns
I use it every day in my soul every day
to remember you by

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Case Procacci Brodi Niebaum
Chief Charlo Ponderosa Pine Power Schools 9th grade
Elementary 4th grade Peacock Pride dye on silk
I find a perfect one
I wonder how long your life was
Beautiful white snow falls on you
and makes a hat
Your arms swing wildly in every direction,
but your body stays
still,
stiff
as a board
I think I’ll go elsewhere
for a Christmas tree

Briar Stratton
Chester-Joplin-
Inverness Public
Schools 7th grade
Pineapple
reduction print

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Connor Heggem Callie Luther
Butte High School 12th grade Colstrip High School 12th grade
Walleye clay sculpture Gnome ceramic sculpture

Kenzie Rogers
Colstrip High School 9th grade
Pineapple ceramic Emma Cook
Chester-Joplin-
Inverness Public
Schools
7th grade
Winter Cherry
Blossoms
watercolor

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Chitat Killsback Grant Taylor
St. Labre Indian Chester-Joplin-
School Inverness Public
10th grade Schools
In memory 2nd grade
watercolor Snowy ceramic

Hailey Cowley
Hillcrest Elementary 3rd grade
Sunset in the Evening colored pencil
Davin Farrell
Silence is . . .
Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade
Silence is
the wind softly blown
Silence is
the sound of a page
being turned
Silence is
my soft breath
in and out
Silence feels
like a lonely night
Silence feels
like a dream
Silence feels
like 2nd place
Silence is
a fresh snowfall

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Clayton Heggem Brea Wagner
Butte High School 12th grade Hillcrest Elementary 6th grade
Brook Trout clay sculpture Sunset on the Beach crayon & watercolor

Briann Palmer
Harper Jones
Colstrip High School 9th grade
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools 1st grade Colorful Koi Fish acrylic
Pumpkin Collage mixed media collage

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Alexsandra Big Hail Josie Nelson
St. Labre Indian School 8th grade Chester-Joplin-
Crow beaded purse Inverness Public Schools
kindergarten
Ice Cream Cone
paper maché

Cody Flaten
Power Schools 9th grade
Shadows of Fall charcoal

Grace Burnette
Colstrip High School 9th grade
Sword Dragon marker

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Abby Fraser Ethan Heggem
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Butte High School 10th grade
Public Schools 10th grade
Zebra Eye charcoal pencil Remembrance
There are many heroes of war,
Only remembered in the deepest lore,
The ones who fought for more,
That never returned to their front door.
The soldier that never rested,
Whose courage was truly tested,
While fighting for a country contested,
But in the end, was bested.
Their souls should live on,
From dusk until dawn,
Instead of being lost in others’ brawn,
Even though they were all called upon.
Alayna Shepard
CS Porter Middle
School 8th grade
Volleyball chalk pastel Sarah Sisolak
St. Labre Indian School 10th grade
Arizona Clouds oil

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Max Holden Spencer Richter
Chief Charlo Elementary 4th grade Chester-Joplin-
Inverness Public
Ode to Pomegranate Schools
11th grade
Oh pomegranate, Minotaur
you’re as purple as a bruise mixed media
When I bite into you,
you’re as white as snow
You feel like a soft cloud
You’re as sweet as a lollipop
Your millions of seeds
like a shark’s mouth
full of teeth

Kobee BigBack
Colstrip High School 12th grade
Wave photography light writing

Summer Tapedo
St. Labre Indian
School
12th grade
Mountain
Morning
reduction block
print

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Jaxson Parkinson Rayne DiTonno
Power Schools 7th grade Colstrip High School 9th grade
Baby Giraffe scratch art I've Got Ants on My Boots! watercolor and marker

Lexi Bell-Baker
Robert Holman
Power Schools 12 grade
Who's Watching acrylic Hillcrest Elementary 6th grade
The guitar pencil

44 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 45
Index Submissions Guidelines for 2020
A Heggem, Ethan .....................41 Rehm, Violet ...........................22
Allphin, Arieannah ................ 2 Hill, Peyton................................. 1 Rhodes, Richard ...................14 All submissions must include the following:
Holden, Max ..........................42 Richter, Spencer ...................43 In the body of the email:
B Holman, Robert ..................45 Robinson, Lacey ..................16
Bachteler, Saige ....................15 Rogers, Kenzie ......................32 1. Student: Full name, school name, grade level and teacher
Backen, Ryder .......................29 I Ryman, Ben ..............................iii 2. Teacher: Full name, school name, address, and school contact information,
Baker, Sidney............................. 5 Imhoff, Keira.............................. 1
Bearchum Jr., TJ .....................21 J S including phone number and e-mail address

Bell-Baker, Lexi.......................44 Schwalbach, Veronica ........15 3. Title and genre/medium/process: All submissions, writing and art, must
Johnson, Blake .......................26
BigBack, Kobee .....................42 Shepard, Alayna ...................40 be titled (untitled pieces will be assigned a title). Writing should include
Jones, Harper ........................36
Big Hail, Alexsandra ...........38 Sievers, Sierra ......................... 6 genre (example: poetry, fiction, narrative, etc.). Art should include genre/
Brinson, Aumri .....................20
K Sisolak, Sarah .........................41 medium/process (example: photography, oil paint, mixed media).
Kemmer, Lily ..........................12 Small, Charlie ........................19
Buffington, Jaxon ................... 8 As an attachment:
Killsback, Chitat ....................34 Smelser, Brady ......................25
Burley, Brooke.......................... 9 4. Declaration of originality: Each piece must have a declaration of
Kilyanek, Micki .......................14 Standish, Alvia .......................17
Burnette, Grace ...................39
King, Shelby................................ 4 Stone, Aubreigh ...................20 originality signed by the student and the submitting teacher.
C L Stratton, Briar .......................30 (Note: these should be actual signatures.)
Cannon, Makaila .................... 8 Striet, Brant ............................27 5. The work, which must be submitted electronically to
Leach, Alyson .......................... 3
Clum, Wren ...........................16 Sturgill, Trent ..........................10
Lehnerz, Ben ..........................28
Cole, Jasmine ........................13 Sutton, Ashlyn .......................19
Lehnerz, Spencer ................23
Cook, Emma ..........................33
Luther, Callie ..........................33 T signaturesfrombigsky@gmail.com
Cowley, Hailey ......................35
D M Tapedo, Summer .................43
All artwork should be scanned as a jpeg file at 300 dpi.
Maan, Ranveer ........................ 7 Taylor, Grant ..........................35
DeVries, Avery .....................27 Tobar, Zoey............................... 3 All literary pieces should be sent as a PDF.
Mansfield, Kyla ......................13
DiTonno, Rayne ...................45 Toeckes, Maggie ..................... 7
Maruska, Nick ......................... 5 Please title each document the name of the student.
Dudley, Abigail ......................17 Trefts, Tatum ..........................11
Medicine Horse, Talyah ...11
Dudley, McKenna ................26 Please submit one student’s work and declaration of originality per email.
Miller, Tyler ..............................23 V
E N Vallie, Anissa ...........................18
Eaves, Allie ..............................18
Nelson, Molly ........................24 W Submission deadline:
Ewing, Jazzmyn ....................... 2
Nelson, Josie ..........................39 Wagner, Brea .........................37
F Niebaum, Brodi ...................31 Weaver, Savannah ..............24
Friday, March 27, 2020
Fallsdown, Rueben ............... 6
Farrell, Davin .........................34
O Wheatley, Caleb ..................28
Ontiveros, Kiah ....................25 Widhalm, Nicholas................ 9
Flaten, Cody ...........................38 Woods, Rose..........................10 Visit our website at
Fraser, Abby ...........................40 P Woods, Tommy ....................22
Frost, Amaya ..........................21 Palmer, Briann .......................37 signaturesfrombigsky.weebly.com
Parkinson, Jaxon ..................44
H Procacci, Case ......................30
Hall, Meredith .......................29
Hay, Hailey................................. 4 R Copyright: Following the first publication of Signatures from Big Sky, and related uses by the State
Heggem, Clayton ................36 Rasmussen, Rachel .............12 of Montana, to included by not limited to the state’s energy calendar, capitol rotunda exhibit, and
Heggem, Connor ................32 Red Star Rose ...............cover other promotion of the Signatures program, all rights of reproduction, publication and all other
rights under the U.S. copyright law revert to the original author/artist.

46 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 Signatures from Big Sky 2019 47
 Thank you to the following teachers for encouraging their students
to submit work to Signatures from Big Sky 2019:

Connie Barnhart Powder River County District School Broadus

Lori Booke Burlington Elementary School Billings

Karen Bridges Colstrip Hight School Colstrip

Connie Carlson Hillcrest Elementary School Butte

Kevin Cashman Chief Charlo Elementary Missoula

Carmen Cetraro Hillcrest Elementary Butte

Jill Downing Central School Helena

Dave Henrich Hillcrest Elementary School Butte

Lindsay Kambrich Butte High School Butte

Mike Kujawa Butte High School Butte

Rebecca Manska Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools Chester

Edie McClafferty Hillcrest Elementary School Butte

Joni Olson Power Public School Power

Katherine Ruland St. Labre Indian School Ashland

Monica Schwemin Hillcrest Elementary Butte

Dawn Sievers Power Schools Power

Leslie Snoke CS Porter Middle School Missoula

Paulette Stanich Hillcrest Elementary School Butte

Heather Yeo Hillcrest Elementary School Butte

Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the

medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck

48 Signatures from Big Sky 2019