C. Forrest (Woody) Amidon was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from college at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee where he met his wife, Katie Marston Amidon of Clearwater, Florida. They were married in 1957. Forrest later graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and has served churches in Ohio since 1959. He also taught elementary school for the Indian Lake School District for thirty years.
The Amidons have three children and a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Both are retired and live in Bellefontaine, Ohio.
Woody began drawing with a cousin when he was a child. Their mothers would save left over rolls of wallpaper. Together the two boys would create scenes on the back of the wallpaper. Woody’s interest in art continued but it was not until he moved to Bellefontaine and joined the Logan County Art League that he began to paint more regularly. Taylor Smith was the instructor of that group for many years. Woody learned to use watercolor at the Springfield Museum of Art under the instruction of Enid Willard. After retirement he began to attend classes at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. He has also attended the Water Media Workshops with nationally known artists as instructors at KANUGA Conference Center, near Hendersonville, North Carolina. In September of 2012, Woody was privileged to attend a Watercolor Workshop in Italy with Frank Webb as the instructor.
Carving became an interest when a class was begun at the Logan County Friendly Senior Center a few years ago.
See more of Forrest’s work on Facebook page The Starchworks of C. Forrest Amidon