A family project

by Holly Strother
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:49 PM MST

Six members of one family have discovered that a family that creates together stays together.

Arlene and John Leonetti of Cody and their daughters Kathy Frickel and Trish McDaniel of Casper, Tina Knight of Worland and Chris Leonetti from Michigan have been creating dolls, snowmen and blankets, painting and woodwork for decades.

The primitive style doll is something that is popular in the East but is starting to catch on in the West, Trish said.

“The primitive is an old art,” Kathy explained. “When they first started making dolls, when they’d find pieces of scrap quilts and linens and things they didn’t want to throw away and they would make their dolls and other items for Christmas gifts, and that’s kind of how it started.”

For the past eight years, the family has hosted an annual holiday show, “Your Heart’s Desire,” that features strictly their creations from throughout the year.

“You can‘t beat being able to do something and be creative and make it yours,” Trish said. “That‘s what I like about it the most. I don‘t actually like to use patterns a lot. I like to have just one of a kind things.”

“I don’t like to use a pattern anyway, because it changes,” Arlene said.

“Yeah, you change things around a little bit and just kind of give something your own personality,” Trish added.

John is the primary woodworker and hand painter of the group. Kathy said he has been known to spend countless hours perfecting each detail of his paintings.

“Last year or the year before, he made this fireplace screen that had all the reindeer and it looked like they were in their stalls,” she said. “It took him forever because he‘s so meticulous … to be honest with you, you‘ll never find another one like that,”

“Each one had its own expression,” Trish added. “Each one had its own personality.”

Arlene always has been doing some sort of craft just as gifts for family, while her daughters have slowly joined in to the family business. She said she began selling her things at gun shows she attended with John.

“I started taking them there, and that’s when I started selling them,” Arlene said. “All of a sudden, the kids were making some so I said, ‘Ok, I’ll take your stuff too,’ and then we just kept branching out more and more.”

Kathy said she took up the art form to kill time when she lived in Evanston and her husband worked in the oilfields. Trish visited her and began to join in.

Their other sisters have started creating their own styles over the past few years.

“It’s definitely a family thing,” Kathy said.

Trish and Kathy began selling their work at a few craft fairs and specialty shows around the state, but soon found that they liked to specialize at just a few shows. They have participated in the Highland Park Craft Fair since 1981.

This year’s “Your Heart’s Desire” sale will be in the Willow Room at the Holiday Inn in Casper on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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