Payette Land Trust BIG HEART
Congratulations to Kim Thompson, 2026 BIG HEART Artist!
Kim is a McCall-area artist and business owner whose work focuses on building connection to place.
She holds a B.S. in Resource Conservation and an M.S. in Science Education, and after five years teaching science locally in McCall and New Meadows, went on to build KT Mountain Studio into a nationally recognized ceramic art business.
Today she creates art under Mapphouse Fine Art and runs Mapphouse, an education consulting business.
Kim says, “My approach centers on what I call the landscape equation: the idea that a landscape is the sum of its abiotic elements, its living communities, and the human culture that connects to it. For the Payette Land Trust’s Big Heart project, that framework becomes literal through natural pigments collected from conserved lands, native Idaho species rendered across the sculpture’s surface, and community education.”
The completed BIG HEART will be unveiled at Conservation Day, June 20 at Depot Park in McCall. Stay tuned for periodic updates here and via PLT’s email newsletter (link in bio).
You can learn more about Kim’s work at mapphouse.com.
The BIG HEART will be unveiled at this year’s Conservation Day on June 20!
What does Conserving the Heart of Idaho mean to you?
Each year Payette Land Trust asks this of local artists, and one is selected to paint a four foot tall fiberglass heart in that theme.
The goal of the project is to promote awareness of conserving the natural beauty of West Central Idaho. PLT hopes the heart will engage, educate and inspire the community. The BIG HEART will travel to different locations throughout Valley and Adams Counties until the SweetHEART Party & Auction where it will be auctioned off to raise funds for Payette Land Trust’s land conservation work.
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