Avery Kasper left her family’s ranch near Goodland several years ago, but she continues to carry northwest Kansas in her heart — and in much of the art she shares with her students and others with an appreciation for her work.

This new year is turning into an especially busy time.

Two paintings she submitted were recently selected for a curated show at the Jones Gallery in Kansas City, Mo. They are among 150 pieces on display through January.

Kasper also has work at the Grassroots Arts Center in Lucas and in the current exhibit at the Ellsworth Area Arts Council.

Then there is the educational aspect of her art.

Kasper recently taught a florals class at the Ellsworth gallery. Another one — focusing on chickens — is planned from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12.

Kasper, 31, also has 100 students at Ellsworth Junior/ Senior High School and teaches at a kindergarten through grade 12 virtual public school based in Elkhart in southwest Kansas. Her virtual students include a professional tennis player and a Kansas City ballet dancer.

Kasper’s family, her art and her students serve as her life’s foundation. Kasper and her husband, Paul, the Ellsworth County attorney, live on a farm outside of Wilson with their three daughters. She has a studio there in a building Paul purchased, thus clearing the kitchen table of art supplies.

The farm is a reminder of her own childhood and the days she spent with her father, who still farms in northwest Kansas.

For Kasper, the multi-media pieces she creates are a way to combine her love of history, science and art. They also are a way to tell a story when words fail.

“I paint and draw what surrounds me — the art, history and science of the plains of Kansas. I live on a farm nestled in the hills of central Kansas. I have spent my entire life connected to the flora and fauna of the plains, and have been completely immersed in rural, western and Kansas culture. Exploring the relationships between land, sky, plant, animal and/or human is what my work centers around,” Kasper wrote in explaining her approach to her work.

Her style is distinctive. Bold brush strokes. Vivid colors. The ideas never seem to stop flowing from her brush. Again, they often are the product of her growing up years near Goodland.

“All of my fondest memories go back to working with dad on the farm,” Kasper said.

A major example is the more than 100 hours she spent this past summer on a 12-feet-wide, twopanel narrative of the July 2, 1867 Kidder Massacre near Goodland. Kasper and her father worked cattle within five miles of the site of the skirmish.

The incident involved a detachment of 10 enlisted men and an Indian scout of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry under the command of Second Lt. Lyman Kidder. The detachment was attacked and wiped out by a mixed Lakota and Cheyenne force. Two Lakota, including chief Yellow Horse, were also killed. The fight, part of a campaign known as Hancock’s War, occurred during the period of the Indian Wars on the western plains.

“I somehow felt like it was the forgotten battle,” said Kasper, who unveiled the ambitious piece of work this month at the Ellsworth gallery.

She holds degrees from Fort Hays State University and is working on a Master’s Degree in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Early on, she operated a flower shop and the Sportsmen’s Lodge at Wilson before accepting a teaching job at the Central Plains School District in 2014. She has been at Ellsworth since 2016.

Her students complement her creativity. Few things make Kasper happier than to see one of her kids find their own style. It’s a feeling that could help define her future.

“I’m not a planner,” Kasper said. “It just depends on where life takes me.

“I love to create with the kids ... I don’t know if I’d ever be able to give that up.”

Editor’s Note — The Ellsworth Area Arts Council Gallery of Art is open 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information: (785) 472-5658.