“Technology can take kids farther from the tactile, energetic creative process,” she said. “Kids get used to instantaneous results, so sometimes if they can’t finish fast, they quit. Young kids naturally create with abandon, but at a point, they begin to compare themselves to others or want more realism. They convince themselves that they can’t do something that they really can do. I have had the good fortune of being able to witness what art can do to help children.”

Baschon has received the Art Teacher of the Year Award in South Carolina, and she has deep friendships in the Tryon area. For the past 36 years, she and a group of friends have met the third week of October at what they call the annual Grouse Out.

“At first, a couple of us met at the same spot in Pisgah Forest by the Davidson River for two years in a row, so we decided to make it an annual event. One man said he saw a grouse (a small bird) poo on his tent that first year. My maiden name was Rough, and the Roughed Grouse became our group’s mascot. Now our children have grown up and sometimes join us, too,” Baschon said. “Some of my friends from the Grouse Out live in Tryon, so when I was ready to move in 2007, I found my way here.”

Baschon teaches many workshops and maintains a website at www.thecirclewithin.com. Her work is sold locally at the Trade Street Coffee Shop and Gallery in Tryon, where she frequently gathers with friends.