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Artwork copyright Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1978.
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Artwork copyright Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1978 (detail).
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Artwork copyright Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.
Silverdale's Children, 1978
Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand
American (born 1939, died 2023)
Location: Cottonwood Elementary, Bremerton
About the Artwork
Artist Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand created Silverdale's Children by casting images into cotton paper pulp. The pulp features three mineral pigments of off white, deep cream, and gray. Sahlstrand notes, "Five children's garments are represented arranged over three background panels, representing plant life in the area of the school. The salal in the right background panel was taken from the schoolyard, as was the huckleberry. The base panels represent plant and sea forms native to the area. Scattered through the piece are letters, animals, numbers and small real shells for the children to find and name."
This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Central Kitsap 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.
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