‘Prairie Prayer’ in college president’s office

Eastern Arizona College President Todd Haynie and art student Talana Hooper are seated before Hooper's painting, "Prairie Prayer," which has taken temporary residence in Haynie's office at the college. - David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central

THATCHER — As an art student at Eastern Arizona College, Talana Hooper likes to mix the past with the future.

Her inspirations for her oil paintings are from stories from her family’s ancestry, and she uses her grandchildren as her models.

“I dress them up in the old pioneer clothes and it’s so fun,” Hooper said.

One of her works, “Prairie Prayer,” has a new temporary home, the office of college President Todd Haynie, and a reception in her honor was held Thursday.

“It is so exciting,” she said. “I just love that painting, and I am so happy for other people to be able to see it and enjoy it.”

“Prairie Prayer” tells the story of a young girl named Charlotte who had lost her shoes during the family’s 19th Century trek across the wilderness to a new home in Utah. Each night, she would pray for new shoes and, one day, she and her sister spotted a berry patch. There, she found a pair of shoes.

“She put them on and they fit perfect. And then she came running back to her mom and she said, ‘Heavenly Father answered my prayers! And he even knows my size!’ ” Hooper said.

Hooper’s work will hang in Haynie’s office until next semester, when another EAC art student’s work is selected for display.

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