Jenny Evans is as unique as every piece of art she creates.

At 28, the Northport art teacher has a "joie de vivre" that is put into everything she does. Evans, a native of the Upper Peninsula, graduated from Munising High School and in the years since has blazed a trail for herself similar to her parents, who moved to the U.P. from suburban Detroit some 30 years ago.

Jenny Evans

“They were married, packed up everything they had and went to the U.P.,” Evans said at the end of the day in her classroom.

She grew up at Shelter Bay, between Marquette and Munising along the shores of Lake Superior. When it came time to select a profession Evans was initially drawn to teaching, but cast aside the tendency.

“Both my parents were teachers and I pushed that away because I wanted to do my own thing. Something else,” she explained.

At Northern Michigan University, Evans studied art and worked with the university building and grounds crew mowing grass and of course — plowing snow. She also explored welding and learned about vehicle maintenance.

“All the guys I worked with were into welding and auto mechanics. I learned a lot from them,” she said.

An artist with an emphasis in delicate nuances of oil painting, Evans uncharacteristically donned a shield, wielded a welding torch and transformed metal into pieces of sculpture.

With the help of friends she has put her mechanical know how to work on her faded red 1970 Volkswagen van and Toyota T-100 truck. The van was a “freebie,” non-operating and in the deep woods of the Upper Peninsula, when she acquired in a swap with another friend involving another vehicle with a blown engine.

“I’m cursed when it comes to vehicles,” the ebullient teacher said. “My friend Don, from the Foothills Cafe (near Glen Arbor), has given me a lot of help keeping them going.”

A peek at the motor at the rear of the vintage van reveals wooden shims and garbage bag ties that keep its motor running on all cylinders. Evans’ creative flair is more apparent in the interior of the van, which with its pop-up camp top make a convenient shelter when she’s traveling in Leelanau and throughout the state taking in bluegrass and folk music festivals. Her parents were among the first organizers of the Hiawatha Music Festival at Marquette — mom is a clogger; dad a guitarist.

“They say ‘vinyl is final,’ but I’ve taken care of it,” Evans said proudly, pointing out the burgundy and gold-color cushion covers she recently completed. “I know (the van’s) a boy, but I haven’t named him. That’s not the kind of thing you can force.”

During a recent all-county event for high school students, hosted by the county’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC), she dressed the vehicle up to look like a yak, complete with horns and a tail.

Jenny Evans

The van, with and without costume, serves as a conversation piece for the young lady, whose only sibling — a sister — also blazes her own trail as a dog musher in Alaska. If not that, it could be the bright green guitar she totes down to any of our peninsular beaches and plays at sunset.

“I’ve met a lot of neat people,” Evans said.

Known to parents, teachers and students in Northport, the young teacher was introduced to Leelanau in 1999, when she traveled to the home of a boyfriend who was from Cedar. Evans spent her student teacher days in Auckland, New Zealand and is now a fixture in Glen Arbor, where she has taught classes since 2001 for the Glen Arbor Art Association.

“I fell in love with it,” said the teacher, who ironically came from an area which boasts Michigan’s only other national park — the Pictured Rocks. “I’m a product of my parents: they both love the outdoors.”

Leelanau, known more for its retirement population than nightlife, is now home to Evans, who was “always doing something crazy in college.” Evans is now taking time to develop other skills, such as sewing, learning the mandolin and reading.

But for now, she’s preparing to make the trip north to see her parents. And instead of taking the bus, she’ll be taking her chances driving her Toyota T-100, which was last produced in 1997.

“It’s got a leak in the gas tank, so I can only put in 10 gallons (of gasoline) at a time,” Evans said, adding that it could be a little worrisome on vast stretches of U.P. roads where gas stations are often scarce.

But she’ll be back.

Evans is scheduled to teach some evening classes this summer for the National Park Service evenings at D. H. Day Campground.

Favorite food, book and saying:

Favorite food: "Anything with shrimp an Thai curry."

Favorite book: "Into the Wild," by Jon Krakauer, it's book about a young man who leaves his worldy possessions behind and travels to Alaska to live in the wild."

Favorite saying: "I don't have one."