Minnesota artist Sarah Nelson turns her fantastical art into new products through her company, Auslandish Co.<\/span><\/h5>\n

Words by Jenny Krane<\/span><\/em>
\nPhotos courtesy of Auslandish Co., by Sarah Ascanio<\/em><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n

That all changed when she discovered that she could use pen and ink to find home anywhere she was. She\u2019d use her Austrian upbringing, her creative eye for fantastical characters and use of autumnal color to later create her own style of art: \u201cAuslandish.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Nelson said. <\/span><\/p>\n

As she was mapping out her home on canvas, she\u2019d create divine depictions that discombobulated seemingly serene images. For example: the Palisade Head rock formation\u2014with krakens playing ball and UFOs on the horizon.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s these innovative additions that provide Nelson with the cozy feeling that she\u2019s right where she needs to be. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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,\u201d Nelson said. <\/span><\/p>\n

auslandish [aus-land-ish]<\/span>\r\n\r\nadj. <\/span><\/i>1. A term combining Austrian and outlandish, as coined by Sarah Nelson 2. Her fantastical versions of real-life places \u00a0<\/span>n. <\/span><\/i>1. Sarah Nelson\u2019s stylized pen-and-ink art brand<\/span><\/pre>\n
And \u201cplace\u201d is essential to the Auslandish style Nelson is cultivating. <\/span><\/p>\n
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. <\/span><\/p>\n
All Auslandish Co. pieces are handcrafted with pen and ink.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThese places, if you make them broad enough, they not only encapsulate things for you,\u201d Nelson said, \u201cbut they are a treasure trove for other people to remember important parts of their lives, too.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
Nelson launched her own business\u2014<\/span>Auslandish Company<\/span><\/a>\u2014to develop collaborative projects with other artists who could help fill the world with more of these treasure troves. <\/span>She realized that no matter the medium, other people could connect to these places just as she did.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cPalisade Head\u201d from Nelson\u2019s \u201cPlaces Volume I: Minnesota\u201d collection.<\/p><\/div>\n
The first to take advantage of this effort was Ashley Duke of Minneapolis-based backpack company, <\/span>Viska<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
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 <\/span>combine their two mediums<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Nelson\u2019s pen and ink and Duke\u2019s textiles. <\/span><\/p>\n
The inside flap of a special edition Viska bag features Nelson\u2019s piece, “Twilight at High Point Falls,\u201d starring some unlikely characters: A robot, a mermaid, Sasquatch and UFOs. These cryptids are incorporated subtly, like something you\u2019d see hidden in the margin of an \u201cI Spy\u201d book. <\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I put the fantastical characters in it is to capture nostalgia from moments you can\u2019t incorporate just by drawing it,\u201d said Nelson. \u201c<\/span>But it gives you the feel of the joy you had in that place or with those people.\u201d The bags prove that Nelson\u2019s nostalgia can be taken with customers anywhere they go. <\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal as a backpack company is to give people the right tools for a good adventure.\u201d Duke said. \u201cAuslandish art is full of rich scenery and mysterious characters that imply a great story.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
One of Viska\u2019s backpacks features Nelson\u2019s piece \u201cTwilight at High Point Falls” on the inside flap.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/b>Nelson describes this branch of her work as adventurous, but whimsical. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
And Duke agrees. \u201cSarah is a good storyteller,\u201d she said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
The collaboration with Viska was Nelson\u2019s first\u2014now she has multiple in the works. \u201cOur second [collaboration] with <\/span>Five Watt<\/span><\/a> is going to be a series of collectors\u2019 mugs, and the first one will come out in November,\u201d Nelson said.<\/span><\/p>\n
Nelson also has plans for even more collaborations with artists in the Midwest. She sees them \u00a0as stepping stones that will help her achieve her goals for Auslandish Company. <\/span><\/p>\n
For now, Nelson works another part-time job while creating her art out of an in-home studio\u2014but her dream is to create art full-time while being at home full time, as well. <\/span><\/p>\n
\u201c[Art has] <\/span>always been a part of me,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThe joy that it gives someone to look at a place they\u2019ve loved since childhood has been really cool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Minnesota artist Sarah Nelson turns her fantastical art into new products through her company, Auslandish Co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n