Philipsburg Artist Presentation: Nancy Fitch & Jessica Jones
July 30, 2024, at 5:30 PM

Join us for a casual evening to meet the Summer Open AIR Philipsburg Artists-in-Residence. Artwork will be on display and there will be a brief reading by writer Jessica Jones. Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

Stay tuned for more details to be announced!

Meet the Artists:

After majoring in fine art in college, Nancy Fitch entered medical school and practiced family medicine in Missoula and overseas, including ten years setting up care and treatment of HIV in African health systems. Now retired from medicine, Nancy became passionate about painting to make up for lost time. She studied watercolor with Kendahl Jan Jubb for 10 years and continued her education through Montana Watercolor Society, Oregon Society of Art, and Northwest Watercolor Society. Nancy has exhibited in various galleries in Missoula and participated in competitions with MWS and Dana Gallery. She paints in oils, and pastels, focusing on Montana's natural lands, flowers, wildlife, and waters, trying to capture transient, reflected light.

Jessica Jones holds a Masters in English from the University of Montana, with licensure for K-12 and training in Indian Education for All. She is on full-time faculty at Kent State University, where she teaches place-based composition, Native literature, travel writing, and poetry. She has also taught middle school on the Flathead Reservation, and often teaches with Upward Bound, serving students from the Blackfeet Reservation and Missoula County Public Schools. Jones’ creative work centers on place (both Northern Appalachia and rural Montana, as well as some travels.) Her chapbook, Bitterroot (2018), can be found at Finishing Line Press. Her work has also appeared in journals and book anthologies like Poems Across the Big Sky, Bright Bones, and Dear Vaccine. She has served as Writer-in-Residence for Calcutta Mercy Hospital in India, and Poet-in-Residence for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. When not in the classroom she enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, and spending time with loved ones and her cat Magnolia.