Backcountry artist to peers: Just do it

Bonnie Shields is 74 years old, but she didn’t let that stop her from spending nine days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness this past summer.

The Sandpoint, Idaho artist is known as the “Tennessee Mule Artist” for her whimsical drawings and cartoons of mules. She spent nine days at Shaw Cabin, 14 miles inside the Bob along Gordon Creek. There, she sketched and drew alone while battliing a healthy mosquito population.

“If you sat down and got quiet, you got eaten alive,” she said.

But the eating for her was good — the cabin was surrounded by bushes loaded with huckleberries, she said.

Shields is a full-time artist, and the trip was made possible through the Artist-Wilderness Connection, a partnership between the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, Flathead National Forest, Hockaday Museum of Art and Swan Ecosystem Center.

Every year, several artists are provided the opportunity to stay in a Forest Service cabin for several days while they ply their craft in the wilderness. Artists in turn donate a piece of their work back to the program.

While Shields doesn’t hike much anymore, she still rides her trusty mule Iris into the backcountry. Iris is 23 years old and, like most mules, is not much enthused about going into the wilderness. But she enjoys coming out, Shields noted.

Shields started her drawing career at the age of four “on grandma’s kitchen wall with a black and green crayon.” She’s traveled into the backcountry for more than 30 years and encourages anyone who is interested to give the backcountry a try.

“Do it,” she said. “Get a good mule and good friends and do it.”

Applications for the Artist-Wilderness Connection are still being taken. For more information, vist online at www.hockadaymuseum.org under “Artist Opportunities.” Shields’ work can be seen online at www.bonnieshields.com.