Jean Belangie-Nye
Plaster Feet, Wood, Fabric Woven leaves, Dried Orchids (Phalaenopsis)
Cottonwood
Ancient flutes echo through the cottonwood canopy
Whispering ancient stories of a great lake, a vanished ice dam,
Replaced by rivers and streams from high mountain glaciers.
Stories of creation and the People.
Your ancestors came from seeds - buried stow-a ways of fluff.
Two hundred years - you have stood with your partner,
The elders of the tree canopy with stories hidden in your DNA.
The years of growth, drought, and fire captured in your age rings.
Today you stand alone by Tum-sum-lech - River of No Salmon
Your partner hewed down by the great Deroche of 2024.
The Selis foraged for centuries in your canopy.
Camped in the meadow above Tum-sum-lech.
Lewis and Clark found a place of rest
Before and after their treks over the Bitterroots.
My ancestors were late arrivals of the Westward Movement.
Today, your meadow and canopy are protected.
A Montana State Park that welcomes all
To a place of quiet, history, and abundant wild life.
The meadow that sheltered your ancestors has not changed
In my eighty years, an oasis in the midst of urban growth.
Jean Belangie-Nye
As a child, Jean grew up in the mining towns of Wallace, Idaho and Moab, Utah. The forests of Northern Idaho and the red rocks of Moab were her playgrounds. Art was the rainy and snow day pursuit. In the early 1960’s, the family moved back to Montana. Her grandparent’s ranch in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana was always home.
The arts had always been encouraged. Her first camera in the fourth grade became her artist tool. Ballet lessons were an eight-year struggle in coordination and attention. After moving to Missoula as a junior in high school, theater became Jean’s focus.
Jean attended the University of Montana. Her interest in the arts became her life. Writers, artists, performers were her companions and friends. She met her husband, Lee Nye, who encouraged and took her love of photography to a professional level. Jean graduated with a double degree in Technical Theater emphasis costume design and English with a certification to teach high school.
Jean spent 42 years as a teacher and principal. After two years of teaching high school English, she returned to the University where she picked up her MA in School Administration and Curriculum. As part of the degree, she needed credits outside the education department. As a result, she ended up in Don Bunse’s printmaking class on the collagraph. Printmaking, in addition to photography became her form of artistic expression.
After retiring, history, art, nature, politics and bike paths became her life. She is a docent, board member and advocate for the environment, the arts, education, and the list goes on.
At the age of eighty-one, Jean received a call from Molly Stockdale at Travelers’ Rest State Park about an Open Air class on wood printing. “Was I interested? Absolutely! We know this Forest, became my introduction to carving a wood print. Putting my feet in plaster, led to combining my love of the environment with my orchids. I was hooked! The wood carving led me to sign up for the week-long Montana Institute for the Book Arts class on wood etching. I have discovered that working with wood gives focus and calm to my ADHD mind.”
First day of the “We Know This Forest” Project, April 13, 2026. Jean walking along the path at Travelers’ Rest State Park.
