Artwork copyright Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2022.

Balsam Root with Wild Iris, 1979

Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand
(American, born 1939, died 2023)

Location: Court of Appeals, Division II, Tacoma

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand created Balsam Root with Wild Iris using a paper pulp casting process. First she layered objects onto the printing surface. Then she added wet paper pulp and placed everything onto a vacuum table, which compressed the paper pulp into a relief print of the objects. This artwork represents two plants common to Washington State. She created the brown color using a pulp made from day lilies. It is an unconventional, minimalist portrait made of all natural, biodegradable materials.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Kelso School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand (1939-2023) was one of the main artists working with handmade paper in the Northwest. She often used organic objects and clothing in making her paper relief artworks. She notes, “My images come from my immediate environment which is rural. The objects, plants, and animals represented are important to me as strong visual images as well as for my own personal fondness for them. By interpreting my environment into paper form it may be enjoyed beyond its own life span.”

Sahlstrand grew up in Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lindenwood College in Missouri, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa. In 1965, she moved to Ellensburg, Central Washington, to join the Art Department at Central Washington State College, where she lived for the rest of her life. In 1981-82, she traveled and lived in Japan and Korea to study papermaking. Sahlstrand influenced several generations of students teaching papermaking and printmaking. She is Professor Emeritus at Central Washington University.