 | The newly released book, Miami's Pride; A Portrait of a County, published by McGuffey Press, of Troy, Ohio, is an artist's perspective of people, places, and everyday life in Miami County. The book features original full color photographs and paintings that include beautifully simplistic rural images, charming city and village images along with a refreshing perspective of county landmarks and working people from all corners of the county.
The book includes images of all of the communities in Miami County from the smallest to the largest. Local landmarks include: the Miami County Courthouse, Eldean Covered Bridge, Miami County Fairgrounds, Miami County Parks, Brukner Nature Center, WACO Field, Piqua Historical Area State Memorial, the Miami Erie Canal, and The Great Miami River Recreational Trail to name a few. The largest section of the book is dedicated to farming in Miami County with additional sections of manufacturing "Around The County" images.
Karen Purke, founder and owner of McGuffey Press, has established herself as a purveyor of pen and ink watercolor renderings of local landmarks, business, and residences. Karen's commission art work hangs in clients' homes, offices, lobbies, and corporated boardrooms through out the Mmiami County area. Recently she has taken a new perspective and is working on self driven projects with plans for more new releases in the future. As an art instructor for students of all ages for more than 25 years she has recently developed three art programs: "Doing Art with Youth At Risk," "Doing Art with Youth in a Juvenile Detention Facility," and "Doing Art with Special Needs Nursing Home Residents." Karen and her husband Terry live in Troy, Ohio. They both love history and are living history interpreters who portray various time periods; the Scottish Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, Jamestown Colony, 1607, English and French traders of the 1750s, the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and the American West. | |