55 Years went by so fast.  Guess I must be having fun.  Moved to SunRiver, St. George, Utah which is a 55+ community in 2000.  Enjoying golf, Pickleball, Jeeping, and the beautiful outdoors.  This area is a big playground with beautiful scenery.  So much to do, but getting a little older makes it take longer to do, than 40 years ago.  

Born Carolyn Fairbanks, I was known throughout my public school years as Carolyn Williams. I was reared in a home which championed the Arts. My grandfather was John B.Fairbanks and my uncle was Avard Fairbanks, so, although my mother and step-father were  professional musicians, they encouraged my natural propensity for the visual arts.

While at East High, I was fortunate to take art classes from Ray Edvalson, who taught me everything I would need later in life for my career in commercial art and needlework design and manufacturing from silk screening to advertising layout. I was lucky to become the very first Sterling Scholar in Art from East High School, then I went on to attend BYU on an art scholarship. Next I married my wonderful husband, Omar, and went to work as an emblematic illustrator for the O.C. Tanner Company. I illustrated an Arabic Language textbook and worked as a fashion illustrator with the Paris Company before we moved to North Africa. While in Libya, I learned the local dialect, wrote and illustrated a fashion column for Benghazi's English-language newspaper, taught art classes for the International Women's Club, and had the opportunity to meet the Queen of Libya. It was in Libya where our oldest daughter, Maha, and our son, Kadri, were born.  Thereafter we came to the States for a visit and I was sent by the State Department to train Peace Corp volunteers preparing to go into Libya before I returned to Benghazi.

Omar's poor health prompted us to move back to the United States where our youngest daughter, Rheim was born. We opened a needlework store named "The Tapis-tree" in downtown Salt Lake City, from which we launched over a dozen needlework features in national magazines such as WOMAN'S DAY and FAMILY CIRCLE, wherein we sold my needlework designs in kit form. I was then fortunate enough to go on to design for the major manufacturers in the needlework industry until we decided to break off to design and manufacture our own kits.

In 1996, I was asked to take on the daunting task of spearheading the US effort in a gigantic needlework project on behalf of George Washington's ancestral home, the Sulgrave Manor, in Sulgrave England, in which over 1000 petite point pieces were needed to be worked by volunteers to embellish the bed hangings of the 16th Century bed in the Manor's Grand Tudor Bedchamber. The "New Elizabethan Embroidery" project was completed and dedicated in 2003 and Omar and I were on hand to represent the United States at the dedication. In 2006 I embroidered a panel replicating the US Postal Service's Breast Cancer Stamp for The National Needlework Association which toured the United States for two years, coming to rest permanently at the Smithsonian's Postal Museum in Washington D.C.

In the 1990's I was blessed to study with a great art teacher by the name of Frank Covino who taught me to paint in the manner of the Old Masters wherein one painting takes over 150 hours to complete as compared to the one-day paintings I used to do. One of the photos attached is a self-portrait in the Old Masters technique and I am currently working on portraits of George Washington's ancestors for the Sulgrave Manor. It is my ambition to document my Libyan and American families in oils one day, but, currently, the Barrani Design Studios keeps both, Omar and me, extremely busy producing projects for people internationally to stitch and find an escape from the cares of the world. I enjoy painting portraits in particular and I dream of the days when I will have time to devote exclusively to painting great paintings and weaving grand tapestries, but I'm afraid it's only a dream.  I probably won't be able to attend the reunion because we are scheduled for a trade show those days in Baltimore.

Finally, I really want to honor and thank Mr. Edvalson, for his great contribution to all of the students of East High and particularly to me with his knowledge of art and his great patience in trying to share it with everyone.

May God bless you all.

UPDATE:  I mentioned little to nothing of our experiences with the Libyan government, particularly since Muammar Ghadafy took over in 1969, but it has continually been a significant concern in our lives in that Omar's brother, Ahmed Rafik, was assassinated by Ghadafy's hit men in 1984. Our sympathies have always lain with the opposition movement, especially during the entire Libya Revolution of 2011 when each day our hearts were in our mouths as our family members were in danger.  Although Omar knew many of the people serving in the Ghadafy regime, it now turns out that one of his school mates and long-time friend, Mohammed Mogarriaf, was elected the first President of Libya. May God bless all of the people of Libya to forge an outstanding democratic, free country in spite of the extremely dangerous challanges they face.