For artist Deb Stika, there's no 'Place' like home

Deb Stika’s artwork provides both a wealth of significant Whitefish history and a gold mine of trivia.

There’s a house near Glacier Bank on which the same string of gourds has hung for 14 years.

Truby’s restaurant no longer exists downtown, but those who designed the new office building at the site were careful to save the signature tree out front.

And, to Stika’s dismay, the Pin & Cue bowling alley removed all the decorative pins that once lined the outside of its sign.

“It was so kitschy,” she said with affection.

Stika, 57, has been paying attention to the little things that define Whitefish for about a decade. In that time, the retired art director has drawn everything from Whitefish’s landmark buildings to its road signs for “Project My Place,” in which she shares what, to her, makes Whitefish special.

“It fulfills an artistic need to illustrate the feeling of finding a home,” she said. “This was the place I wanted to be.”

Stika moved to Whitefish 14 years ago at age 43, after she earned enough money as a graphic designer and Minneapolis art studio owner to leave it all behind.

“During the 1980s and ’90s, there was money to spend, and I spent it on advertising for other people,” she said. “I worked my ass off and socked money away. I don’t have any children, so I dedicated myself to advertising. It was a crazy business.

“I wore myself out and burned myself out.”

She has slowed down considerably since then, working a few part-time jobs and participating in the local arts community by teaching at the Stumptown Art Studio (her mosaic sign hangs at the studio’s entrance) and joining other projects.

But “Project My Place,” which she began formally a few years ago, has been her real  passion since moving to the Flathead Valley.

The colorful prints are created with layers of marker in what she calls “graphic whimsy style.” Rather than spending hours outside the site she wants to illustrate, she takes pictures, then “I put my fuzzy slippers on, curl up and draw,” she said.

Those who want a tangible reminder of “what used to be” in Whitefish can find plenty of memories in Stika’s collection.

The Dire Wolf, Great Harvest Bakery, Coach’s Corner and Club Central all have disappeared since she captured them in her marker-style drawings. Other buildings have changed dramatically, such as the historic Remington Bar, which she said has had two face lifts since her first illustration, and City Hall.

“It’s falling down, there are big tiles slipping off of it,” she said. “I don’t know if they’re going to bulldoze it or what.”

Certain houses also have captured her imagination. She has drawn sets of houses inspired by colors, such as the “Pink,” Blue” and “Yellow” series. She has focused on the skinny “shotgun” style houses in the railway district and drew a trailer that stands out because of the refrigerator on its front porch.

Even with her already-packed sketchbooks, there is so much left to draw, Stika said.

“I haven’t done the depot yet or Central School,” she said. “Those are pretty important.”

She also plans to expand the project into other Northwest Montana towns. She wants to capture the essence of Bigfork next and she is also drawn to Lakeside and Eureka.

Stika is marketing her artwork mostly through her website. She currently has prints available at The Purple Pomegranate in downtown Whitefish, with a corner display as June’s featured artist. Her first public show of “Project My Place” was at Montana Coffee Traders in downtown Whitefish in the spring.

“I’m hoping people will look at these as something to collect,” she said.

She has been given a few commissions from people who understand the philosophy behind Stika’s project, who want her to capture a cabin, a lake home, a grandparents’ cottage.

“People want me to illustrate ‘my place’ or ‘my home,’” she said.

For more information on Stika’s art, visit www.projectmyplace.com