STOUGHTON - Alice Picard, who will be 89 years old this year, was raised on a farm south of Forget.
After marrying her husband Leo in 1954, they bought a farm southeast of Stoughton and raised their five children on the farm, which remains in the family and is now farmed by one of her sons.
The operation had cattle, pigs, chickens and one horse, which she loved to ride. She only rode bareback as they did not have a saddle.
Throughout her childhood days, Picard always enjoyed drawing, but on the farm, she did not have a lot of free time to pursue her art, as she helped out with farming, had a large vegetable garden and made most of her children’s clothing.
They also had a few milking cows from which the milk and cream was separated so it could be sold.
Tragedy struck the family when Picard’s daughter Yvonne had a brain tumor. She was only 15 years old, and they were told she would not live a long life. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 40.
Picard and her husband Leo moved to Stoughton 27 years ago when they retired from farming. Leo died three years after moving into the town.
Once Picard moved to Stoughton, this gave her the chance to renew her passion for art.
She is always looking for nicely-shaped rocks to paint. Some are painted with life-like flowers and others have a scene or an animal. One piece she painted on a stone looked like a fox curled up and sleeping.
Picard also saves bottle caps and squeezes them to look like a flower pedal after they have been painted. She then arranges them on a barn board to create a flower.
Her pebble stone art is also displayed on wood. Each small stone is painted with detail. Some pebbles are painted to resemble butterflies and carefully mounted onto the wood.
In the winter, Picard quilts. They are all hand-stitched on the top. She has made several memory quilts using loved one’s clothing for the pieces. Over the years she has made an array of quilts in assorted colours.
She will continue with her love of quilting and art as long as she is able, or until she runs out of stones and bottle caps.
Picard keeps busy with her quilts and art and is also a member of the Stoughton Drop-in Centre.
She takes part in monthly birthday parties, potluck suppers, shuffleboard and card games.
The game military whist is her favourite, as they go to different towns to play, giving her the chance to meet new people.
“It is a lot of fun and I love to meet people,” she said.
