My Story
The Artwork
I fell in love with the texture and visual interest wood grain creates when it is combined with wood burning and watercolor. Each wood panel is selected with the inspiration image in mind so darker grain and knots can flow into the painting intentionally and amplify the beauty found in the landscape. I use a variety of wood burning techniques and tools to bring out the dimensions of the space while adding layers of watercolor and gouache to bring the elements to life. Each painting is sealed with a clear varnish to preserve the pigments of the paint and the depth of the wood-burning. The balance these mediums bring to the landscape is cohesive and brings a sense of peace and gratitude when viewing. My artwork can be found online or in-person at art shows across the state of Minnesota.
History
I have always had a passion for watercolor and art. For me, it is a form of meditation that allows me to express what is in my heart and my mind. I have fond memories as a child, watching my mom create beautiful quilts inspired by stained glass windows as I sat on the floor of her sewing room “organizing” buttons and admiring all the different fabrics in her stash. Watching her “break” the rules of applique while still holding to the fundamentals of the art is something I have carried with me throughout my life. I was blessed to have inspirational art teachers throughout my grade-school years, but I truly fell in love with the art of watercolor in my high school watercolor class. This stuck with me through high school and into college where I went to school for a BS in Graphic Communications Management with a Minor in Art.
This major led me to a career as a Sewing Production Manager for a printing company. Every day I had the opportunity to create banners and displays that took an ordinary environment and turned it into something memorable. As you can imagine, this was stressful but also very rewarding. The stress started to impact me more than I expected, and I knew it was time to find an outlet to spark that joy and inspiration I once had. This is when I stumbled across Instagram and the world of wood-burning and calligraphy that I never knew existed. That week, I went out and bought my first wood-burning tool and fell in love. I mainly focused on drawing words and found myself escaping the stress at work through doodling new fonts in the margins of my production schedules during our meetings. I started sharing my work online and people started asking me for custom signs and were willing to pay for it. I never truly realized until this point that I could make a living by creating art.
Fast forward a year to when my husband and I decided it was time to move closer to family and start one of our own. I will never forget the conversation we had when he had a job lined up and I did not. I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but never solely that role. I wanted to have something beyond that to not only set an example for our children but also continue to fuel the drive I have always had to grow and learn. We agreed that we would give this “little business of mine” a try. Here we are now! Three years later and continuing to grow in more ways than I could ever imagine.