Lori Faye Bock – Artist, Shepherd & Small Businesswoman
from Ranch & Rural Living (PDF), December 2014
Origins of Creativity
As a child growing up in the Midwest, Lori Faye Bock wanted to create things. As a student in elementary and high school, her imagination knew no boundaries as teachers and instructors urged her to follow her dreams. The leaders in Brownies and Girl Scouts were also very instrumental in furthering her desire to create. But most significantly, she believes the support and encouragement she received at home from her parents and from her grandparents on her frequent visits have made the difference in her life.
It was on those visits to her maternal grandparent’s farm in the late 1950s and 1960s that Lori Faye Bock was introduced to a lifestyle that would leave a positive and permanent imprint on her life. She says, “My grandparents had an assortment of farm animals, a productive garden and orchards which provided healthy nourishment, and the summer visits were a lot of fun!” As a young girl, she really didn’t know the importance of all of that back then, but adds, “I definitely do today and appreciate living on my own farm,” she says.
After studying at The Center for Creative Studies College of Art and Design in Detroit, Lori received her teaching credential from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She then migrated to Southern California where she taught first grade for a number of years and where she also met her future husband. After a year-long courtship they married and subsequently moved to Santa Fe in 1989. There, Lori Faye Bock opened a ceramic studio/gallery on Canyon Road.
Later that year, the couple purchased an early 18th century abandoned adobe farmhouse along the Chama River just above the village of Abiquiú. They spent the next 10 years renovating and expanding the original dwelling as well as bringing the heirloom apple orchards back into productivity and establishing a garden.
