Larsen captures art through the beauty of nature

BY SUE READY | photos contributed

After years in the retail corporate world, Sonja Larsen retired as senior vice president at Target Stores. In the late 1980s, she and her husband moved from Minneapolis to the Brainerd lakes area. It was here, at their rustic cabin, they enjoyed fishing. Her husband caught a prize bass, which reminded her of a fish print she had seen years ago and admired. She attempted to print it. After many rejects, she made a satisfactory print and they framed it. Thus, after years of frustration with her attempt at art, she found her niche. Nature printing. Mother Nature did the drawing; she did the print making.

Larsen saw the Smithsonian show, “Pressed on Paper” at the Bell Museum in St. Paul and enjoyed a weekend of printmaking leaves and fishes. She discovered the Nature Printing Society (NPS), and learned the art dates back to prehistoric times. Detailed and accurate printmaking can be a painstaking and demanding art. Images are transferred from inks or pigments to paper or fabric. Each inking creates a unique print.

Through the NPS, Larsen studied with two Japanese master fish printers and several American artists. She was invited to participate in an annual fish print exhibit in Japan, which was a great honor. She has exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and in 2005 her prints were in Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn Museum show, “Artistic Nature.” In 2014 Larsen participated in a two-person show, “Impressions of Nature” at the Minnesota Horticulture Arboretum’s Andersen Library. One of her fern prints is in its permanent collection. Her solo show, “Images From Nature” was at the Crossing Arts Alliance in spring of 2022. And her last solo show was at the Watermark Art Center in Bemidji this spring, titled “Creating Art From Nature.”

Larsen has been active in the Nature Printing Society. She edited the NPS newsletter and the society’s book, “The Art of Printing from Nature.” Her art is included in “PaperArt” by MaurerMathison and “Natural Impressions” by Carolyn Dahl. Her fish and plant prints are in collections in Germany, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Larsen co-authored a book, “Creating Art From Nature.”

Larsen has hosted print-making workshops and demonstrations since the 90s. “Some people, especially children, learn by seeing and some by hearing. But some learn by doing. A leaf print can help a person learn how to identify plants by their leaf shape. I love to have kids make a print and see the look on their face when they see what they created.”

For Sonja, nature printmaking is an easy art form to explore and it is inexpensive. “You can turn a book into a press. Weeds are free. The paint can be ink, acrylics, oils, even a cheap Crayola watercolor kit will work,” she said.

Larsen advises nature printing is easy at first, as people are fascinated with the details they see in their first print, details not seen by the naked eye. Then comes the art part: composition. Then the quest for printing more than leaves. Complications arise, such as printing a

Goatsbeard seed head, one seed at a time. Some flowers need to be pressed, others printed fresh. The challenges continue.

Larsen uses oils or acrylics and has a collection of papers as well as silk for printing. Critics have said her art combines technical accuracy with an Asian aesthetic. Her work can be found locally at Ripple River Gallery in Aitkin, Stables Gallery at Madden’s on Gull, and Simply Rustic Floral and Gifts in Crosslake.

Looking ahead, Larsen is thinking about using paper clay as a new vehicle for nature printing. She encourages readers to use a new set of eyes when looking at tree leaves and weeds for inspiration as well as investing time exploring all that the Nature Printing Society has to offer.

Nature can be its own artist. Some of the most beautiful things in the world can be created with surrounding natural materials. Sonja Larsen’s art captures the beauty of nature.

Critics have said Sonja Larsen’s art combines technical accuracy with an Asian aesthetic. Her work can be found locally at Ripple River Gallery in Aitkin, Stables Gallery at Madden’s on Gull, and Simply Rustic Floral and Gifts in Crosslake.

Sue Ready is a freelance writer, poet, food writer, book reviewer and former middle school teacher. She is a member of the Northwoods Arts Council in Hackensack and one of the chairs for the Annual August Northwoods Art and Book Festival. Sue blogs at http://sockfairies.blogspot. com with recipes, up north living and travel adventures. Her book reviews are posted on Facebook under EverReady Book Reviews and on her blog.