Katie Estvold: an inspired artist

"When I get an idea I can't stop until it's done," Katie Estvold said.

Sometimes she even stays up all night. Not easy when you have a husband and two children.

"I make sure they always get a hot breakfast," she said with a smile.

Estvold became a full-time artist three years ago after the birth of her daughter Emma. She came to Sisters with her husband, Wes, in 1998. Both were teachers at Sisters Middle School, and art took somewhat of a back seat.

Her son, Nathan, came along in 2002. Katie decided she wanted to be with him, so she began to tutor home-schooled youths. That worked fine for a couple of years, but the arrival of a little sister meant the end of tutoring.

"I just couldn't do it and take two children with me," she said.

A summer business at local craft fairs was also abandoned. So, she plunged into a career as a full-time artist and is already making more money that she did as a tutor.

"I also needed to do art to be a whole person," she said. "I am just in awe and wonder at being so fortunate that I am able to do this for a living."

The 33-year-old graduate of Western Oregon University grew up on a farm in Madras and showed her interest in art while still a toddler.

"My mom said clutching crayons in my hand was my happy place," she said. "I think it still is."

She took art courses in high school and minored in art in college along with her education degree. Her husband is a physical education teacher at the middle school, and works on an advanced science and math program to bring in more income. Of course, his job benefits are important to the family.

Katie has a love for and fascination with the 18th Century. Most of her current artistic projects reflect this interest. She discovered what are called "Catch Penny Prints" that were popular in 18th Century England. Printers at the time were having trouble making a profit.

They put various designs, pictures, scandals and somewhat off-color material for the time on paper and charged one penny for each. She uses replicas of the prints on almost all of her art. One example is a small shadow box that has a print inside and is decorated with period paper and bright colors. The prints are also an important part of a period newspaper she produces and mails to subscribers.

Called "A Goode Ladye's Press," the publication uses type faces and stories with language spoken from the 1700s. The newest edition features Halloween, with stories about how the term Jack-O-Lantern came to be, and how trick or treating evolved because people left treats so ghosts would stay away. Beets were also carved to scare ghosts, but that soon evolved to pumpkins.

There are also snippets about black cats, what men and women are to wear in mourning for an English Lord who left the world in 1760 and a recipe for Pumpkin Corn Cakes.

There is also a craft activity for kids and some Catch Penny Prints to be cut out and enjoyed.

Printed on recycled paper, the Press is hand-addressed and mailed to 120 people. She says 20 to 25 percent of the people who receive the six copies a year are in foreign countries. Overseas subscribers pay $28 and domestic $26.

Another popular item Estvold sells are French Carton Dolls. She uses Styrofoam instead of wood, and paints them to replicate the old days. One was priced at $625. Another has sold.

Her most popular items are papier-maché stationary boxes that come in three sizes and have paper and other supplies in brightly decorated boxes.

"They are the most fun thing I make," she said.

Every box is a custom order. For about a year Estvold has been producing mixed-media wall hangings using wood, joint compound and bees wax. She was foraging in her husband's work shop and found some scrap lumber. She picked up the joint compound, commonly known as mud to finish sheetrock, spread it on the wood and began using various tools to make a pattern. Bright colors were added using watercolor or acrylics to make a unique piece of art. They are then sealed with beeswax.

She also sells necklaces based on the 18th Century "Federal" style, and charm bracelets.

Estvold plans to continue her art work, but also hopes to teach classes and help others get started. In April, she and three other artists moved their gallery to the Sisters Art Works building at 204 W. Adams Ave. The gallery, called The Way We Art, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday and one weekend a month. Estvold calls her home workshop Sparrow's Cottage. For a complete look at her "Goodes" go to http://www.sparrowscottage.net, or e-mail [email protected]