The intersection of artwork and interaction
Photos: LOREN BENOIT/Press Artist Anne Marie Hedin stands next to her “Steelhead” oil and acrylic painting displayed at her studio. Anne and her dad fished a lot when she was a kid.
Artist Anne Marie Hedin is asking people to stop by her art gallery, Studio Selfie 4 at Lakeside and 4th Street in downtown Coeur d’Alene, to select a colored dot sticker to add to an art piece entitled “Joan Miro, a Self Portrait.”
Artist Anne Hedin’s new studio space, Studio Selfie 4, had its grand opening during the July Coeur d’Alene Art Walk. Viewers were able to place stickers on one of her art pieces and enjoyed some of Hedin’s other work, like his antlers, moss and pinecones piece of art titled Charlotte Halliday. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — Pine cones, moss and pieces of dried hot glue were scattered across the glossy concrete floor. Cardboard sculptures, bright mixed-media painting and mirrors of all shapes and sizes dangled from the walls and ceiling.
This is former Lake City art teacher Anne Marie Hedin’s new studio.
Hedin taught art and English for almost two decades. She combined her two loves to write “The 12 Inspiring Artists’ Guide,” which contains stories and artwork by featured artists and line drawings created in the style of each artist.
After spending most of her career helping students hone their talent and realize their creativity, Hedin is finally focusing on her own dream: She rented a studio space for her art installations in the Rockford Building on Lakeside Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.
Hedin wasn’t always interested in being an artist. She decided to step out of her comfort zone and take a painting class with a close friend while attending Washington State University. It was her first foray into making art.
“I didn’t even know that yellow and blue made green,” Hedin said. “I didn’t know anything.”
Hedin said her first two group critics were not in her favor. She created two different acrylic painting pieces that she said looked “like something a 3-year-old did” that were “absolutely terrible.”
For her third piece, she wanted to do something comparable to the other pieces being created in the class, which she said was full of talent — excluding her friend and herself. She found herself pondering Joan Miró’s painting, “Birth of the World.”
“I actually thought, ‘Anyone can do this — I’m going to do this,’” Hedin said. “So I copied it and I did it very aggressively and I just was mad and I put all the paint on it.”
When Hedin went to her art class the next day, she felt nervous. She admitted the piece was not hers. Her instructor told Hedin she knew it was a copy of the Miró work — but was astonished that she was able to recreate it so well.
“Simple, right? But it was my first experience where I have had success, and it is not simple to copy these artists — but I was actually able to have a little bit of success there,” Hedin said.
To commemorate how Miró’s painting helped her reach success, one of the pieces in Hedin’s first installation is titled, “Joan Miro, a Self Portrait.” She’s asking for the community’s help in completing it. People are welcome to stop by her gallery and select a one-centimeter-sized, colored dot sticker to add to the piece. Hedin estimated it could take hundreds or even thousands of stickers to finish the 30-inch by 40-inch artwork.
Laura Kvarnstrand and her two daughters, Linnea, 11, and Eva, 9, were visiting the Rockford Building last week. Linnea and Eva were able to put some of the first dots on the painting. Laura grew up in Kootenai County but has been raising her family in Habo, Sweden. They were back visiting family and friends in the area and were delighted by Hedin’s artwork.
“Anything interactive with art is good,” Laura said. “Especially for my two girls since they love art and are constantly making sculptures out of household items and paintings.”
Hedin’s new studio space, Studio Selfie 4, had its grand opening during the July Coeur d’Alene Art Walk. Viewers were able to place stickers on her piece and enjoy some of Hedin’s other work, including a sculpture made out of cardboard, wood, foam, deer antlers, moss and pinecones titled, “Charlotte Halliday.”