“I am going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.” – Elsie De Wolfe
Art is many things. It can be baking a cake, writing in a journal, knitting, photography, collage or painting. Wrapping a gift beautifully. Making a card for someone you care about. Writing a poem. It’s non-judgmental. It is accepting. It’s getting out of our own way. It makes us happy. Art is what we love to do for ourselves and for others.

Folk Art Stories
Many years ago, inspired by my German heritage, I began decorating furniture and household items with colorful flowers and folk art motifs. On one of my visits to my grandmother in Munich, I discovered Wallachs, a store devoted to carrying traditional art by regional...

When Santa Became My Work of Art
Baking has always been my passion but so has creating art. After I left my hand-painted furniture business in Minneapolis to move to Door County, my life took an unexpected turn. One day, snowbound in my cottage studio, I painted a wood cutout Santa for my mother as a...

Let’s Write a Letter
Okay. I know it might sound archaic to suggest you write a letter when texting is the "in" thing. But let me just say this: When I get a handwritten note or letter from someone, it means so much more to me than a text. “Getting a Letter” collage by Pipka It means the...

The Dog Days Are Here!
I’ve never owned a dog before. But, strangely, in the past couple of years I’ve been attracted to all things DOG. Dog movies, dogs lounging on beds in decorating magazines, dog books, dogs walking with their owners down the street, dogs coming into my shop, DOGS,...