Artisan: Erika

Artisans Bio

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Erika is has made many peices of art in the following areas:
Photographs, Mixed Media, Greeting Cards, Acrylic Paint, Henna Tattoo, Sketches, Cob, Polymer Sculpture, Murals

Available Peices

  • Acrylic Paint
  • Sketches
  • Photographs
  • Greeting Cards

    • Bio

    Artists can find inspiration anywhere! For one, inspiration may come with the pattern of sun-dappled leaves in a garden. For another inspiration may develop from an affinity for clay or fabric.another might find inspiration in their children or loved one. Still others might be inspired by the accomplishments of an admired musician or painter.

    Some may think that Erika Hagberg’s inspiration came from an unlikely source. She credits the architecture of her high school with spurring her interest in things medieval!

    Erika attended East High in Madison, WI, a mammoth red-brick building complete with spires, turrets and stone bridges linking areas of the school. At the same time her imagination was being teased by the castle-like setting, she was encouraged by her art teacher to take on large art projects – huge canvases, for instance, and given free rein to spend her extra time in the art room. Soon she was painting castles, dragons and scenes reflecting her interest in medieval folklore.

    Erika continued developing her artwork while she attended Madison Area Technical College and earned a degree in commercial art. She has been “drawing forever”, and has dabbled in a wide range of media. “If there was something I wanted”, she said,” I made it”.

    Erika’s home is testimony to the wide range of techniques she has developed. The stained glass overlay window on her front door depicts a castle and moat. A wall tapestry created in punch embroidery shows a medieval castle on a starry night- complete with dragon. Framed photographs of her children are interspersed with pencil drawings inspired by medieval imagery. A chessboard created from polymer clay continues the medieval theme.

    While acknowledging her interest in medieval history, Erika describes her artistic style as “eclectic,” combining the medieval with Celtic, Nordic and Art Nouveau elements with a bit of Star Trek imagery added for good measure. (A Vulcan harp hangs on her living room wall!)

    But after moving to the Trommald area, Erika wondered just where her art would lead. Her art background led her to the Stamp Cottage where she could continue to use her creative instincts. At the Stamp Cottage, Erika demonstrates art materials and techniques, and creates samples of stamped and embosses items. She also designs stamps focusing on Nordic and Celtic designs, and creates scrapbooks, an art form that is seeing a revival in interest.

    Inspiration has a way of sneaking up on artists when they least expect it. Hearing word that a Viking-theme inn was opening in Crosby, Erika chanced to visit the Nordic Inn. She has added her artistic talents to the inn, designing tee-shirts, quilts and various art work, and creating the costumes for the women who perform in the Nordic Inn’s feast productions.

    Now Erika has a business of her own Moon Bay Designs, Erika also enjoys being involved with the Hunt Utilities Group, LLC (HUG) is a for profit organization started by Eco-minded philanthropic entrepreneurs (okay, just a couple of nuts) for the purpose of exploring and developing systems that support ecological living. Our current and planned projects include: HUGnet, Straw bale construction, a research campus, buildings that heat themselves (even in Minnesota), sewage reprocessing and reuse, alternative energy, and related business incubation.

    From a medieval castle in Wisconsin to a small Minnesota town…there’s no telling where an artist’s inspiration will take her!

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