The Artists:

The “Hooker Salmon” was the product of a collaborative effort by three sisters, Joyce Palmer, Fran Arseneau and Debra Learned, who along with their spouses and offspring and the occasional passerby pooled their creative juices to create this femme fatalle.

Joyce Palmer, the eldest of five siblings, is now retired from her position as an Administrator for the State of Alaska. Joyce was the ring leader that schemed up this project. With time on her hands, she is always looking for ways to keep herself and her siblings busy. Joyce is also left-handed and right-brained which she says naturally attracts her to the creative arts, but if you ask her sisters, they say she is just plain crafty. At an early age Joyce sketched, designed and hand-made doll clothes, then went on to mechanical drawing and ultimately graduated with a degree in home economics. Joyce is the ultimate “Martha Stewart”, able to create “art” out of anything. Joyce lives on the hillside with her soon-to-be retired husband, Paul and 1 very old cat.

Fran Arseneau, is sister #4 on the sibling list and was in charge of logistics and engineering for the project. In her professional life Fran is the Assistant Ethics and Compliance Officer at Alaska Regional Hospital so developing and following rules comes naturally to this sister and it is always helpful to have at least one person on a team that knows how to read and follow the directions on the back of the glue bottle. Fran’s creativity is focused on the garden, cooking and raising her family which includes 1 husband, 3 kids, 5 Labradors, 1 cat, 5 fish and 2 Icelandic horses.

Debra Learned, baby sister #5, added a flamboyant flare with her creative details. By day, Deb is a senior registered account administrator at a local financial brokerage firm. By night Deb is an artist in her own right, her genre include acrylics, beading, and garden art. She is best known for her giant erotic flower designs painted in a style reminiscent of Georgia O’Keeffe. Deb was the inspiration for many of the Hooker’s attributes and facial features. A single parent, Deb juggles her artistic interests with raising a teenager, two finches, 1 cat named Wally, and her a long-haired golden retriever, Willow. All while finishing her degree at APU.

Truly the Hooker Salmon was the product of a team effort and special thanks go out to Kevin Arseneau who provided his upholstery shop and tools to this endeavor as well as entertaining the artists with his continuous commentary. And special thanks to Paul Palmer for his generous donation of lures from his lifelong “hooker” collection.