Minnesota artist Sarah Nelson turns her fantastical art into new products through her company, Auslandish Co.
Words by Jenny Krane
Photos courtesy of Auslandish Co., by Sarah Ascanio
When Minnesota-based artist Sarah Nelson was young, she never felt she had a space she could call home. Growing up in Vienna, Austria, as an American citizen with American parents, she always felt a little out of place.
That all changed when she discovered that she could use pen and ink to find home anywhere she was. She’d use her Austrian upbringing, her creative eye for fantastical characters and use of autumnal color to later create her own style of art: “Auslandish.”
“I got to early adulthood and realized that I can accept other places as home, and the North Shore [of Lake Superior] really was one of the first places that felt like home, so I started illustrating that,” Nelson said.
As she was mapping out her home on canvas, she’d create divine depictions that discombobulated seemingly serene images. For example: the Palisade Head rock formation—with krakens playing ball and UFOs on the horizon.
It’s these innovative additions that provide Nelson with the cozy feeling that she’s right where she needs to be.
“My first full series of [this style] really originated out of an exploration, documentation and preservation of memories of finally feeling like I had come home,” Nelson said.
auslandish [aus-land-ish] adj. 1. A term combining Austrian and outlandish, as coined by Sarah Nelson 2. Her fantastical versions of real-life places n. 1. Sarah Nelson’s stylized pen-and-ink art brand
And “place” is essential to the Auslandish style Nelson is cultivating.
To capture the intangible sense of home, Nelson started illustrating places on her hikes in the North Shore. The pieces started to adopt similar stylistic qualities: bright colors, intricate pen-point patterns, swooping borders, as well as unexpected, fantastical characters.
All Auslandish Co. pieces are handcrafted with pen and ink.
“These places, if you make them broad enough, they not only encapsulate things for you,” Nelson said, “but they are a treasure trove for other people to remember important parts of their lives, too.”
Nelson launched her own business—Auslandish Company—to develop collaborative projects with other artists who could help fill the world with more of these treasure troves. She realized that no matter the medium, other people could connect to these places just as she did.
“Palisade Head” from Nelson’s “Places Volume I: Minnesota” collection.
The first to take advantage of this effort was Ashley Duke of Minneapolis-based backpack company, Viska.
Duke, a backpack designer and manufacturer, first met Nelson at a coffee shop. Nelson complimented her bag, unaware that Duke had made it by hand. Since their initial meeting, Viska and Auslandish have collaborated to combine their two mediums with Nelson’s pen and ink and Duke’s textiles.
The inside flap of a special edition Viska bag features Nelson’s piece, “Twilight at High Point Falls,” starring some unlikely characters: A robot, a mermaid, Sasquatch and UFOs. These cryptids are incorporated subtly, like something you’d see hidden in the margin of an “I Spy” book.
“The reason I put the fantastical characters in it is to capture nostalgia from moments you can’t incorporate just by drawing it,” said Nelson. “But it gives you the feel of the joy you had in that place or with those people.” The bags prove that Nelson’s nostalgia can be taken with customers anywhere they go.
“Our goal as a backpack company is to give people the right tools for a good adventure.” Duke said. “Auslandish art is full of rich scenery and mysterious characters that imply a great story.”
One of Viska’s backpacks features Nelson’s piece “Twilight at High Point Falls” on the inside flap.
Nelson describes this branch of her work as adventurous, but whimsical.
And Duke agrees. “Sarah is a good storyteller,” she said. “I like the sense of circular motion each piece has, starting with the border and working inward. The warm colors and elements from nature make each illustration feel very alive.”
The collaboration with Viska was Nelson’s first—now she has multiple in the works. “Our second [collaboration] with Five Watt is going to be a series of collectors’ mugs, and the first one will come out in November,” Nelson said.
Nelson also has plans for even more collaborations with artists in the Midwest. She sees them as stepping stones that will help her achieve her goals for Auslandish Company.
For now, Nelson works another part-time job while creating her art out of an in-home studio—but her dream is to create art full-time while being at home full time, as well.
“[Art has] always been a part of me,” Nelson said. “The joy that it gives someone to look at a place they’ve loved since childhood has been really cool.”
