By Cheri March

Colfax Record Correspondent

A mathematician and an artist, Joe and Barbara Hoffman might seem like the classic odd couple.

But the Alta pair has found common ground in their passion for teaching, whether it’s as instructors in their respective subjects, showing guests how to slow down and smell the pine trees at their 80-acre Moody Ridge retreat or setting an example through charity work.

Besides, Joe explained, it’s the differences that keep things interesting.

“We’re supposed to have totally different ways of thinking,” he said. “However, there’s a lot of art in math and a lot of math in art. We really complement each other.”

Joe recently retired from a career in math education – for the third time. He first retired from the California Department of Education in 1992, left a teaching position at Sierra College a decade later and, last year, surrendered ownership of the business he started to evaluate foreign transcripts and diplomas for U.S. equivalency.

After his final retirement, Joe completed training to become a certified lay pastor for the Gold Country Community Parish, composed of Methodist churches in Colfax, Dutch Flat and Meadow Vista.

Besides assisting senior pastors and occasionally preaching, he’s traveled three times to Louisiana for post-hurricane relief work. On the first trip, he helped repair churches in Slidell, just north of New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain.

“(Hurricane Katrina) swept the water right off the lake and dumped it on Slidell,” he said. “They were covered six feet deep in some sections. It just lifted that water up like a big tidal wave.”

After a career as an elementary school art educator, Barbara now instructs an arts method class for a teaching credential program.

“I teach them how to integrate art into other subject areas because so much time is taken by test-driven instruction,” she said. “I hope to give them enough courage to keep on (integrating art into the classroom).”

Joe adds, “Barbara’s philosophy of art is that everyone can do it – we just have different ways of expressing it.”

And spending less time in the classroom has allowed Barbara more time to express herself – as a watercolor artist.

“I have to pay a lot of attention to my work if I want to continue to grow and succeed,” she said. “I’m in a gallery now, doing studio tours and going to workshops.”

Barbara’s vibrant watercolor renderings of outdoors scenes are on display at Old Town Gallery in Auburn.

Her work will be featured in the Western Nevada County Open Studios Art Tour & Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this weekend and on Oct. 17-18 in The Center for the Arts, 314 West Main Street in Grass Valley.

When the couple finds downtime, they spend it at home – but not alone. They’ve dubbed their rural residence the Cedar Moon Guest House and invite friends, acquaintances, church groups – anyone with an interest – for a stay in nature.

“It’s all word of mouth,” Barbara said. “We just want to share it with people and the best way do that is if they can wake up there.”

Though it’s not a business, the Hoffmans ask guests for a donation to help cover costs.

“People walk in and say it feels like home,” Barbara said. “But it’s a way to get away – don’t bring your computer.”

“And it’s quiet, except for the howling coyotes,” Joe added.

Hearing the Hoffmans describe the Sierra paradise they’ve called home for 25 years, it’s hard to believe they moved here accidentally.

“When we lived in Chicago, I was being interviewed for a job in San Juan,” Joe said. “I thought it was San Juan Capistrano and I told Barbara that there would be wonderful temperatures and all kinds of nice things. (It turned out) we were in the San Juan school district, which is quite different. We fell in love with the place anyway, but I didn’t get the job.”

The day the couple arrived in California with their two sons, Joe was offered positions with the Department of Education and California State University, Sacramento.

“I’ll never know if I picked the right one,” he laughed.

Shortly afterwards they set up camp at Cedar Moon Guest House, a moniker inspired by the couple’s travels in Britain.

Retirement might mean the Hoffmans have more leisure time, but it doesn’t mean they’ll slow down.

“We plan to just keep doing what we’re doing,” Joe said. “There’s a lot of work to be done around our place. We feel it’s such a big job that we’re going to have to stick around for a few more years.”

For more information about the Hoffmans’ Cedar Moon Guest House, call 389-8718.