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Test Page for the Art Gallery

Saving this section as a welcome statement for the art gallery

Benji Sanchez

Megan Sanchez, 2010

Jamie Peterson, 1998

Jamie Peterson, 1998

Leslie Rupp

Maureen Borgia, 1989

Norah Wilson

Kathryn Smith, 1982

Laura Joyce-Hubbard, 1990

Kezziah Lloret, 2006

Kezziah Lloret, 2006

Noel Smith

Elissa Myers, 1994

Sarah (Schirmer) Deon, 1982

Sarah (Schirmer) Deon, 1982

Kathryn Smith, 1982

Andi Standfield

Susan Busler, 1980

Michael Russel

Julie Ryan

Lindsay Cordero, 2013

Joy Lomheim Nguyen

Joy Lomheim Nguyen

Joy Lomheim Nguyen

Susan Busler, 1980

Mommy tells us lots of stories about when she was a cadet. This is her jumping into the fountain!

As a typical cadet, I walked past many statues, displays, and relics without appreciating the meaning until many years after graduation. As my years rolled by on Active Duty I realized the true power of knowledge and now reference this quote quite often. The video included is also symbolic to the journey a cadet faces from start to finish just as an artist with their craft. The knowledge and experience you gain along the way is paramount to growth and success. The quote etched in the stone of this statue reflects the trajectory of such a journey.

My work explores the themes of patriotism, faith, self-expression, change, fear and love. I attempt to tell a story with each image. By choosing children as my subject matter, I am able to explore these ideas with the grace I would give a child who has much to learn.

My work explores the themes of patriotism, faith, self-expression, change, fear and love. I attempt to tell a story with each image. By choosing children as my subject matter, I am able to explore these ideas with the grace I would give a child who has much to learn.

In this moment, Cadet Natalie Rupp (’27) channels precision, pride, and tradition as she performs with the USAFA Drum & Bugle Corps. Her mellophone becomes an instrument of honor—echoing the heritage of service and the joy of Parents’ Weekend, captured beautifully in pastels

All USAFA women are intelligent, committed, and drawn to the defense of our nation through faith and love of our country. I am a proud graduate of the 10th class of women at USAFA, the class of 1989. Whether it be the early days of basic training, the grueling academic schedule, athletics, military training, or as in my case, the all-women flag line on the Drum & Bugle Corps, the USAFA chapel was there in the physical center of the Academy grounds, overlooking all of our experiences. This iconic landmark guides and serves the religious beliefs of a culturally diverse nation that calls itself the United States of America. The chapel is not only a symbol of the Air Force Academy, but also instills in all of USAFA’s women (and men) to remember a higher calling of serving.
When I returned as a professor at USAFA for two tours, there the chapel was, inspiring me to advise and teach women of the classes of 1999 through 2004 and the classes of 2008 through 2013. It is a symbol of equality, non-judgement, strength and faith which has stood for decades. The spirit of the chapel has never faded in the 50 years it has watched over USAFA women and I know it will continue to guide all future classes for many years to come.
When I retired from the AF after a nearly 22-year career, the chapel was centered in the view behind me during the ceremony in the USAFA library. Another reminder that it continues to be a beacon for us even as we move on to other callings. Now, as an artist and potter, molding clay and creating art, I once again, was called to teach others my craft. In the last seven years as the pottery instructor at the USAFA Arts & Crafts Center, I have had many USAFA women in my classes, from very recent graduates of the class of 2024, who were taking a break from Space Training, to retired graduates like myself. As busy as cadets are, even some from the class of 2026 found a few spare moments to come to the Arts & Crafts Center to work on pottery, where I was fortunate to spend time and connect with them. In my personal art, I wanted to create ceramic pieces that communicated one of our best and beloved USAFA inspirations, the chapel. After viewing pictures, drawings, and our revered USAFA chapel in-person, I created a 3-D representation. Through many iterations and testing, I 3-D printed my own tool, found the right combinations of ceramic glazes, and incorporated our iconic chapel into my pottery. I hope it reminds all who see it of how influential our USAFA chapel has been to all of USAFA’s women and to all USAFA graduates.

This piece demonstrates how past women have paved the way for me as a future military leader. As an aspiring cadet and junior in high school, countless USAFA women have motivated me to redefine what I thought was possible, being both my cheerleaders and inspiration in my challenging pursuits. My former volleyball coach and current mentor and supporter, Molly Stowers, is who I dedicated this work to. She is a source of inspiration to me, and has demonstrated how the qualities of grit and integrity can not only bring individual success, but inspire others to pursue excellence as well. In the same way that single raindrops fall to form rushing bodies of water, USAFA women have established currents of powerful leadership and opportunity. The same people have also formed a stabilizing “root system” in my life, portrayed as the aspen trees that are known for beauty and communal strength.

I recently “acquired” a piece of terrazzo marble. I’m still not sure what to do with it. But the strips symbolize so much of my academy experience. I collect challenge coins and the ‘63 to me symbolizes so much. As does the 82 Tiger Ten Huzzah mugs. The class crest and its symbols tell a story as does the Ring Dance and 100s Night glasses. I probably should have thrown my lockbox and copy of Contrails in the photo too.. Symbols are meaningless unless they evoke memories. The boots was day one issue and I can’t bear to part with them. BCT, Hell Week, SERE and the parade in the snow. The boots were there. The 50 Year scarf represents that we are not alone. 50 years of women across five academies. I feel connected Putting these pieces together made me cry. Something we weren’t allowed to do. But the oldest thing has the same symbology when paired with the newest thing, the scarf, and its symbols. Things change but the links remain.

I created “Log Book,” an artist book, in 2018, during a residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts with the artist collective Frontline Arts, inspired by the non-profit Combat Paper. In collaboration with combat veterans from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, I made paper by hand from my uniform “blues.” The first step was to cut our uniforms into one-inch pieces, then add them to a Critter Beater with cotton pulp. Disassembling my uniform was an emotional process. At first, I was unable to do so; even though I’d been a longtime handmade paper artist for 18 years prior, I had never worked with my personal uniforms before. I cut my wings free from my fatigues, which became the front cover image. As I cut my uniform, I thought about my 4 years at USAFA and 20 years of service that followed. I thought about how each year of service brought new missions, and how, with each new theatre in which I piloted C-130s, I grew as a leader. Each new assignment marked a transformation of myself as a person.
Once the paper was couched as wet sheets, I removed excess water by placing the sheets under hydraulic pressure. I dried the paper under a restraint dryer and then folded the paper in order to assemble sections. Using the coptic stitch, I sewed together five sections to form the book’s pages using linen thread. Another member of the class, and Army veteran, helped me affix my wings onto the cover with a leathermaker’s craft tool.
I began to see the entire papermaking process as a metaphor for my military service. In papermaking, we make something new out of core fibers. Through this long process (several days to make one sheet of paper), the resulting sheets are stronger than any individual piece of cloth or fiber. Papermaking is a cellular process. Through hydrating the fiber, the bonds formed are stronger. Out of the practice of converting my “blues” to paper and helping other veterans do so––creating a tapestry of life experiences throughout my service––I emerged stronger. The most powerful part of this project was papermaking alongside veterans of so many wars. Around the big craft table, we cut our uniforms together. When we reached the final product, we traded sheets. So, some of the sheets in this book are the green uniforms of Vietnam veterans and the tan uniforms of the wars in the desert: Iraq and Afghanistan. Together, we traded service stories. I gained a deeper appreciation of my connection to veterans throughout different service periods and different combat zones. We made something of our former selves. The blue of my pages remind me of my place in the Long Blue Line.

“Daystallion is Other, and Nightmare is the propaganda Status Quo.

Of course I don’t belong in the Status Quo. I’m a lil Daystallion, actively recruited and eminently capable of accomplishing the same mission as Status Quo.

We are, each of us that volunteered to serve and perhaps die, glorious unicorns.

Only nightmare is terrifying.”

It changes you, the effort and energy spent navigating the multiple roles you are told to fulfill.

Through A Father’s Lens

This is a portrait of my daughter, Laura Joyce-Hubbard, in 1999, at the controls of a C-130 Air Force Cargo aircraft. She was one of two women Instructor Pilots assigned to the 39th Airlift squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, at the time. She and her crew had just landed on a USAF Thunderbird Support Mission in Mississippi.
Laura selected the C-130 because it supported special forces and was known for its versatile missions—from humanitarian relief to low level formation flying to the ability to land on short dirt strips in remote hotspots of the world. The C-130 was reserved for men only to fly combat sorties until the combat exclusion ban was lifted for aviation in 1993. Laura was in the first wave of women to command crews into the combat zone of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996 and 1998.
Laura first thought of flying at age eight, when she read a biography about Amelia Earhart. At that time, we were living aboard a sailboat, and there was only room for one book on the boat in her V-birth. So she read and re-read that book continually. When she read the Earhart biography, flying a C-130 and securing an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy were accomplishments reserved for men only. She didn’t know then that eventually, she’d become a cadet in the tenth class to admit women to the USAF Academy. Today, Laura is a retired Major and Poet Laureate living in Highland Park, IL. We first collaborated on papermaking at the Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, in 2002. Laura taught me how to make paper in the Picante Paper studio.

I shot this photo of Laura in her C-130 on film, and it is printed on paper we made together.

Materials: Abaca and Cotton.

I painted this during my senior year at USAFA. When I completed the painting, I realized that I had left out the pistil - the female part of the flower. I feel that this painting represents the part of me that felt how women weren’t fully accepted and respected in the male dominated military and service academy culture. Fifty years later, women are still at USAFA and going strong. I like to think that if I were at the Academy today that I would feel more like an equal and that I would paint a complete flower with both the male and female parts.

I created this digital painting of a sculpture hoping it could be a concept for a commemorative installation at the U.S. Air Force Academy to mark the 50th anniversary of USAFA with women. The entry of the first women in 1976 was a turning point—one that has shaped the lives of so many. Reflecting on that history fills me with deep gratitude for those who paved the way and admiration for all who have carried the legacy forward.

The piece portrays a woman on graduation day in 1980 handing her parade hat to a young girl. Her appearance reflects the uniform and grooming standards of the time, including the haircut that allowed no hair below the back of her collar. The passing of the hat is a long-standing Academy tradition, and here it symbolizes the pride, responsibility, and connection that link generations of cadets across the Long Blue Line.

The painting was inspired by a photograph of Spring Semester Wing Commander C1C Kayla Perez as she prepared to lead the cadet wing for Founder’s Day Parade in 2022. While I wasn’t skilled enough to capture Kayla’s exact likeness, my hope is that the figure I painted conveys the confidence and determination shared by every woman who has worn the uniform. The formation behind her symbolizes unity, tradition, and the shared mission that binds all members of the Long Blue Line.

As a member of the Class of 1982, I experienced both the challenges and the breakthroughs of those early years. Creating this piece was deeply personal—a reflection of gratitude for those who paved the way and admiration for those who continue to shape the path ahead. I reached out to Kayla to let her know her photograph inspired this work, and she replied, “I am incredibly grateful for the experience I had at USAFA.” I feel the same way. From the Class of 1982 to the Class of 2022 and beyond, that gratitude endures.

My daughter Aquinnah was born 8 weeks prematurely. She was tiny (3 lbs 8 oz). This picture was taken on her due date and I wanted to capture how small she was. I grabbed my boots - issued by USAFA in June 1978 to illustrate her lack of size. I found it to be funny because her feet (not pictured) were disproportionately big and she used one to kick her way out.

My USAFA roommate was stationed in Hungary and I lived in Arizona. We decided to work on this quilt simultaneously, using a blog to share instructions. Each block is a representation of a woman in the Bible, and we completed a 52-week study along with the quilt. I took my family to Europe to visit Tania in the middle of the project. Tania’s faith has always been an inspiration to me. This quilt represents the contributions of women throughout history and the connections of faith and friendship.

I created this piece in 2025, but it melds together a photo of me taken in 1976 at our recognition ceremony, and a poem written in probably 1978. I recently discovered the hand-written poem among my keepsakes from USAFA. While I have no memory of writing it, I have no doubt I did. It captures some of the emotions I was experiencing as I faced the decision deadline to choose to stay at USAFA, thereby incurring an AF commitment, or to leave the Academy with my academic credits to date and no commitment. My mother applied to USAFA on my behalf and, while I eventually participated in the process, my heart’s desire was to go to medical school at Case Western Reserve. Once I entered USAFA, I gave it my all (Superintendent’s List all eight semesters), never willing to give up or let “the system” beat me. Deep down, however, I always harbored doubts about my place there. In the end, I graduated, serving six years on active duty and 21 in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Colonel. My life has been wonderful so I guess I’m glad I stayed but, occasionally, in the dark of night, I wonder “What if…?”

This painting celebrates 50 years of women at the U.S. Air Force Academy!

These are different portraits of USAFA female graduates showcasing the greatness and contributions of women to our armed forces and in our community. There are women who walked in space, led combatant commands, became one of the first female fighter pilots, led major organizations, delivered babies, and raised their children.

Each of these women demonstrated character, excellence, courage, and commitment from the moment they set foot into the academy and throughout their careers. These women represent a subset of the 7,700-plus ladies who graduated and made a positive impact on their communities.

The central figure of the cadet wears gold prop and wings, signifying the legacy of women who paved the way before her. The cadet also faces east towards a rising sun, symbolizing that the future of women at the Air Force Academy and the armed forces is just beginning.

for me, this photo captures what it has always been about. The photo: you see the sculpture of Lance Sijan suffering from being shot down in the foreground, while in the background you see Sijan Hall, where cadets, being educated and trained to be the vanguard of the air and space defense forces, live. The generational inspiration and motivation moves me. The fundamental motivation of defending our families, our lands, and our allies from anti-democratic forces is a strong call to arms. To give everything so that others may live in peace and democracy.

“The Improbable Dream” is an original mixed media painting commissioned by fellow 2013 (Lemay!) grad and best friend of the artist. The painting documents their journey on Route 66 during 60 Days, beginning with graduation and culminating in a car accident involving a deer (no one was hurt but the deer).
Reading left to right, the work depicts the CS38 Almighty Allstars section of Sijan Hall they called home for three years. Sijan hall dissolves into graduation, depicted by an original image of construction at USAFA painted over to resemble graduation. Upon graduation the scene shifts into their trip on Route 66, starting with Kansas. Original documents collected during the trip are collaged layer by layer into the painting: a Frida Kahlo exhibit, cutouts from a Route 66 Booklet (Kansas, Missouri, Illinois), the St Louis Arch from a brochure, and beneath it all the actual traced route on a map they followed (mostly not using GPS).

Notable stops on the road included The Cozy Dog Drive In (birthplace of the original corn dog on a stick) and an unexpected stay at the haunted Inn at 835 Boutique Hotel. The Pink Elephant Antique Mall yielded an excellent opportunity to hunt for treasures (and many were found).

During the road trip the two 2nd Lieutenants discovered Indiana by surprise after the atlas they used misled them into thinking they were in Ohio – hence the “?” question mark over Indiana on the map. This led to a long night of driving before the two made it successfully to Sandusky Ohio, where the Cedar Point Amusement Park (depicted in the upper left corner) awaited.

The final leg of the journey ended abruptly when, while driving through Pennsylvania, a deer leapt out of nowhere and crashed into their car. They were stranded.

But not for long.

A car approached, stopped, and an older man with a cane got slowly out.
It turns out the man was a former helicopter pilot. He was delighted to let them know “the last time [he] saved two Lieutenants was back in ‘nam.’” He and his hippie wife rescued them, fixed up the car, and helped them get on their way.
The two 2nd Lieutenant besties made their way home to Maryland, where they had a wonderfully uneventful rest of their 60 Days.

Still friends, they went on to have amazing experiences in the Air Force, and are living their best lives. But they will always remember their time at USAFA, and how it all began with an improbable dream.

As someone whose passion sought and benefited from USAFA’s incredible foreign study programs, this resultant enduring influence inextricably effuses my art. USAFA granted me initial access to truly explore the international, yielding further opportunities to work with international allies and discover our world. This indelible imprint thus extends to my art, predominantly capturing elements of cultures and civilizations explored, to include those of foreign partners with whom I had the privilege to interact
(I personally capture all photographs and utilize a select printing lab. I then carefully mat, deboss by hand and sign each limited edition print.)

As someone whose passion sought and benefited from USAFA’s incredible foreign study programs, this resultant enduring influence inextricably effuses my art. USAFA granted me initial access to truly explore the international, yielding further opportunities to work with international allies and discover our world. This indelible imprint thus extends to my art, predominantly capturing elements of cultures and civilizations explored, to include those of foreign partners with whom I had the privilege to interact
(I personally capture all photographs and utilize a select printing lab. I then carefully mat, deboss by hand and sign each limited edition print.)

As someone whose passion sought and benefited from USAFA’s incredible foreign study programs, this resultant enduring influence inextricably effuses my art. USAFA granted me initial access to truly explore the international, yielding further opportunities to work with international allies and discover our world. This indelible imprint thus extends to my art, predominantly capturing elements of cultures and civilizations explored, to include those of foreign partners with whom I had the privilege to interact
(I personally capture all photographs and utilize a select printing lab. I then carefully mat, deboss by hand and sign each limited edition print.)

This is an acrylic on canvas board I did during my senior year at USAFA for a Fine Arts class assignment. I was class of 1980 engaged to a class of 1979 grad, and it depicts the conflicting emotions I was already feeling regarding being an officer and a wife and mother. Note the muzzle on my mouth. I remember not feeling like I could or should voice my concerns with anybody. At the time, joint assignments weren’t as easy to come by, and I recognized a difficult decision might be in my future. As it turned out, I served six years on active duty and 21 in the USAFR, retiring as a colonel (27 yrs total). My husband and I have been married 45+ years. He retired after 26 years on active duty. We raised three beautiful, accomplished, well-adjusted children who are all married with six children among them and one on the way.

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DISCLAIMER: USAFA Women is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a NON-FEDERAL ENTITY formed for alumni and all who support our mission. USAFA Women is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the Department of Defense or any of its components, including the United States Air Force Academy. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. Air Force Academy names, imagery, or visual information does not imply or constitute endorsement. The views expressed by USAFA Women do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any of its components.

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