The darling buds in clay

The botanical arts are always expanding in floral St. Albert but never like this. Self-taught artist Kristin Anderson is hitting the big time with an exhibit of her polymer clay crafts, ever flowery in design. She even has the plants to thank for getting her into it in the first place.

“It started with this monstrosity of a tree, this pine tree, that we’ve got in front of our house,” she offered regarding the genesis of her artistic practice. She just wanted to get rid of it and replace it with a Japanese cherry blossom tree.

“They’re really pretty but then I found out they don’t grow in Alberta. So I thought I would sculpt one. Because my kids were still small, I thought I would put it on canvas up high where they can’t reach it. That’s where it was born. I was just playing with the clay and I liked how it turned out, so I thought I would play with it some more. People started to like it. It just grew from there.”

Indeed, her art and its popularity have grown. What started out as a soothing hobby after her young children’s bedtime has now become a fully-fledged artistic pursuit.

She first showed her work at the 2011 Whyte Avenue Art Walk and was surprised by how well it was received. After that success, she submitted to an art wall at the Muttart Conservatory. That was the same month she participated at Edmonton’s Orchid Fair Art Exhibition and Competition where she got first place in 3D art.

“I went, ‘okay, cool’. So whatever I could find I would submit a proposal. I did 11 shows last year. I was exhausted!”

One of those shows was in February. It was her first solo exhibition and it resulted in a near sellout of her works on display. Then there was another solo effort called Botanical Heroine at the gallery at the Stanley Milner Library in downtown Edmonton. Her name has been steadily on the rise since then. Locally she has also had works at Arcadia CafĂ© and at the St. Albert Painters’ Guild’s shows.

She has, however, significantly reduced the breadth of her campaign to take over the art world this year. She is in the midst of training for a cross-border mountain bike trek. That’s why she only has two shows coming out with the first ever Harcourt House Art Market already out of the way. That took place at the end of May.

Now, she has Static Bloom, her third solo show, arriving at the Alberta Craft Council’s Discovery Gallery. She said that audiences could expect bold colours and presentations of her clay works. Most of the work is around 25 cm by 25 cm, but there is one that is 40 cm by 120 cm, something that will surely make an impression on the wall.

She remained mum on the next show but she must have a growing number of fans that will jump at the prospect.