GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A vast grain belt surrounds this metropolitan area. Farms and ranches spread out in every direction, and small towns dot the plains like planets circling their sun.

But something besides wheat and barley is sprouting here. A burgeoning community of artisans is taking shape. In towns from Havre, near the Canadian border, to Cascade, south of Great Falls, to Browning, near Glacier National Park, people are paying more attention to their artistic side.

Their skills span the spectrum: jewelry, woven wheat, photography, fiber, painting, ceramics.

A booklet called "The Craft Heritage Trails of North Central Montana" is a guide to all this talent. It can be ordered online at www.handsofharvest.org.

This surge of creativity is a fitting legacy for legendary artist Charlie Russell, who lived and worked in the area.

Here are profiles of three of the artisans featured in the book:

Big Sky Fiber Farm
Sells: Hand-spun yarns and hand-woven afghans, shawls and scarves
Location: 1132 River Road, Cascade, Mont.

Contact: www.imt.net/~fiberfarm; fiberfarm@imt.net; 406-468-2469

Jan Johnson lives on a farm near a slow stretch of the Missouri River southwest of Great Falls. When you pull into her driveway, you see a barnyard of animals whose roots span the globe: Cotswold/Teeswater sheep, angora goats and alpacas, to name a few. Angora rabbits live here, too. It's a United Nations of wooly creatures.

Johnson is a fiber artist, and her animals provide her with raw materials. She mixes and matches wools to create the softest of blends.

Her work is labor intensive. She harvests the wool, spins it, dyes it and sells it as yarn. She also weaves afghans and shawls.

But it's a labor of love. "I think every person has that flame of creativity," she said. "I have to feel like I'm creating something or else I don't feel complete. It gives me satisfaction in my life."

Her simple ranch house doubles as her production facility. A spinning wheel and loom are in the living room. On the kitchen stove a pot of goldenrod that she picked on the farm is steeping with a skein of wool. The goldenrod will turn the wool bright yellow.

"You have to boil it to extract the dye from the plant," Johnson said. She adds alum as a mordant, a substance that helps the wool absorb the color.

Johnson honed her skills over time. She took weaving classes and attended workshops. She also goes to fiber fests and does a lot of reading. A guild in Great Falls also provided expertise.