Inspired by Olde World traditions, accompanied by a dash of whimsy.

At Great Northern Tea, no canvas is too big or too small- mostly because I don’t paint on canvas.

I’m honored by the opportunity to paint pets or favored creatures for private commissions, though most of my painting projects involve a very slight nod toward craft and functionality- ornaments, jewelry, seasonal decor. Petite Point embroidery and embroidered felt sculptures hang in my studio beside hand-painted apparel, decorative trays and papier-mâché bows. It took me dropping out of art school and wandering the country for 15 years to realize that Folk Art- not fine art- was calling my name.

I spent many years living in various Northern European communities as a child. The traditional aesthetics woven through these lands instilled an unconscious visual vocabulary in my psyche, hibernating for several decades until I was very ill and very bored in bed for a prolonged period of time. I needed a project, I purchased some wooden reindeer-shapes to paint as ornaments, and the rest is history… years of stored visual memories spilled out of me like patches on a quilt.

Until I began blending my love of traditional patterns with my love of animals, I couldn’t establish any consistent painting style that held my interest. The combination of animal personalities and folk-inspired motifs would become the signature Great Northern Tea aesthetic.

While it all began with designs for a small batch tea company, and I still sell tea, it became clear very early on that tea was simply opening a door for other goods. This felt right to me, as the history of tea is very much the history of trade. And I find inspiration in the textiles, the wooden trinkets, the ceramic vessels, the handpainted heirlooms which fall firmly in the trade category.

Visit my Etsy shop to peruse current painted offerings.