I have been mulling over this image for a couple of years now. My husband and I had travelled to Lutsen in northern Minnesota on Lake Superior so I could try skiing for the first time. It did not go well. Snow is my enemy. Not only did we brave a snowstorm to get there, but the reality of sliding down an ice death mountain without being able to control what I was doing didn’t hit me until I was on the ski lift and there was no turning back. But in the midst of my personal nightmare was this place of stillness and peace. When people think of woods and lakes, they typically picture the warmth and excitement of summer. With winter comes ice and storms, but the snow makes everything clean. And as the snow melts and the world wakes up, everything comes alive.

Here in Minnesota we had a particularly rough winter. March wasn’t too bad, and I think we all thought the worst was over. But then came a blizzard in mid-April. Over a foot and a half of snow fell at my house and we were trapped inside for several days. I was glad we didn’t have to go anywhere and I was able to hunker down and get a big chunk of this done. I thought it would be weird to start a winter-themed project at the beginning of spring, but winter stuck around!

Something that makes this unlike my other pieces is that I used a wood burning tool to make the outline, and then stained the wood panel before painting the dots. I spend much more time in craft stores rather than art supply stores these days – there is something exciting about seeing supplies and techniques that are usually classified as “craft” in an art gallery setting. This is a continuation of that theme in my work.

This piece will be displayed at the Hopkins Center for the Arts Spring Members Show from May 5th-June 2nd.