Kim Bowie
Kim Bowie
I’m not the best carver and certainly not the fastest, but I love carving. Before joining the club here, I tried my hand at chainsaw carving. Not the best hobby for a backyard in the city! PebbleCreek Woodcarvers has given me a quieter option and also much better socializing, which I do excel at. The classes run by the club have talented and patient teachers. I have learned to carve in various woods and soapstone. My favorite pieces are Kachinas and soapstone bears. This season, I made a Native American flute, a diamond willow walking stick, Santa, and have a contemporary mask in progress.
My husband, Clarence, and I built our PebbleCreek home in 2011. We spend six months here and six months in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
I was born on a tiny Air Force base on the Yukon/Alaska border. Snag has the dubious distinction of recording the lowest temperature in Canada -82 F. The First Nations women in the area told my mother to rub bear fat on my skin before going outside. I lived in six of the 10 provinces growing up. We moved every few years with the military.
I started my career in physical therapy at an exciting time in medicine. I pioneered in spinal cord, wheelchair sports, and oncology programming. A dual license in acupuncture gave me the opportunity to be the first PT in Canada to use acupuncture in a hospital setting and the first to provide acupuncture anesthesia for a surgery.
My second career was raising miniature donkeys with my sister on her ranch just outside Calgary. We had a breeding herd and also competed in shows, including the Calgary Stampede.
We feel truly blessed to be able to live in this vibrant community for half of our lives.