AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Way Up North Where the Kittiwakes Play

Juli-Ann Gasper grew up in a family with a passion for exploration, spending her childhood summers on immersive camping trips to national parks. These annual three- to four-week excursions sparked her curiosity for geology, flora, fauna, and local cultures, as the family camped under the stars, cooked over campfires, and hiked through forests and canyons. These formative experiences laid the foundation for a lifelong love of adventure and learning.

Her 32-year career at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, showcased her dedication to education. Juli-Ann was always ahead of the curve, adopting emerging technologies to engage students in new and exciting ways. She was the first professor at the university to create a web page for her classes and received wide-eyed amazement from students when she inserted a YouTube video into a PowerPoint lecture. Beyond the classroom, her teaching experience included four semesters in the Dominican Republic and a research trip to Costa Rica, where she studied women’s cooperative businesses.

Now in her second career as a fabric artist, Juli-Ann continues to draw inspiration from nature and her travels. She developed a unique technique called layered cutaway, where up to 10 pieces of fabric are stitched together, layer by layer, creating stunning three-dimensional art. Her subjects often reflect the landscapes, animals, and plants encountered on her journeys, including the Arctic north, which inspired the book on which this bio is based. Over the past two decades, she has sold more than 200 pieces of art.

Retirement hasn’t slowed Juli-Ann’s thirst for adventure. She and her husband regularly embark on travel expeditions, often with their adult children. A cherished tradition is to bring home an alphabet book from each destination for the family who takes care of their home during their travels. When no such book was available during their Arctic journey, Juli-Ann decided to write one herself.

The 2023 edition of her book, Way Up North, features expanded content that includes discussions on the effects of climate change on the plants and animals she encountered, along with links to interactive activities for both children and adults.