What’s at the root of creativity? Ask a hundred artists where they find their inspiration and motivation and you’ll end up with a hundred different answers. But one common thread seems to weave its way through many artists’ lives: curiosity, and a willingness to follow that curiosity where it leads. Paula Sundet Wolf is a multi-talented artist and craft artisan based in Lutsen. As both a lifelong learner and a longtime craft instructor, her work in basketry, oil paintings, and furniture making exemplifies the magic that happens when creativity and curiosity collide, and the power of continuing to explore new mediums as an established artist.
While artists start creating at all stages of life, Sundet Wolf’s love for art goes back to childhood. Raised by artist parents, she learned to draw as a child and recalls spending hours learning to draw from a set of binders with drawing exercises that her mother had ordered. This interest in drawing ignited a lifelong passion for creativity. She later started experimenting with painting, finding a love for oil paints and how the colors blend together. From there, her journey evolved even further when she started exploring a new form of artistry: basketmaking.
“When my kids were little, I began learning how to make baskets, first to use for myself but then later I was able to start selling them. I was actually selling them in Duluth at the Duluth Pack store,” she said. “I would drive down to deliver a car full of baskets—it was pretty neat that they had asked me to make baskets for them.”
This foray into basketry opened a path for Sundet Wolf as a craft artisan and teacher, and also for a greater connection with nature. As she continued to hone her craft, she began to experiment with coiled baskets, using local materials such as pine needles and sweetgrass to weave unique, spiral stitched baskets. Around this same time, North House Folk School in Grand Marais was getting started, and they asked Sundet Wolf if she would be interested in teaching basketry at the school. She said yes, and has since become one of North House’s longstanding instructors, sharing her love of basketry with curious students of all backgrounds.
For Sundet Wolf, her role as a teacher informs and inspires her craft, and vice versa. One example is her signature agate-bottomed coil baskets. She started ordering slices of agate set in resin to use as a base for coil baskets, in part because basketry can be difficult on the hands, and having a base to start with made the craft more accessible to some of her students.
“When you’re teaching, you’re sharing your knowledge but you’re learning from the students as well—learning different ways of thinking about things and approaching things,” she said.
What is perhaps most fascinating about Sundet Wolf’s work is its diversity; not one to feel bound to one particular medium, Sundet Wolf has forged an artistic career not out of sticking to one specialty, but out of exploring the mediums that call to her, even if they’re new to her. This, combined with a tenacity and a drive to always keep improving, makes her creative story particularly compelling to follow. Her most recent endeavor has been making twig furniture; Sundet Wolf creates beautiful chairs, tables, and more from locally harvested materials such as willow and alder.
“I’ve also expanded into doing stone and mosaic work with the twig furniture. I like pushing my learning and am always learning new things about my craft,” she said. “And with all the artwork I do, I like it to feel connected to this area. I love being able to go out and gather my material myself, whether it’s the twigs and brush for the furniture or the materials for the baskets. It feels really powerful to me to go out and gather things and then be able to use them.”
As an artist who works in multiple different mediums, Sundet Wolf has to balance each of her pursuits; while some of that is dependent on her teaching schedule or commissioned work, there’s also a seasonal rhythm to her work. Living next to a meadow, she cites the changing landscape as one of her biggest inspirations for her paintings. Summer brings materials for basketry, while fall is when she gathers twigs for her furniture work.
“It’s nice being retired as I can move from project to project depending on what I feel like and what’s inspirational,” she said.
And along with nature, there’s one other place that Sundet Wolf finds inspiration on her creative journey: the local arts community in Cook County.
“It actually makes it challenging to sell art because we have so many phenomenal artists in this area,” she said. “But that pushes me to excel, to improve, and I appreciate the helpful support and critiques that I get from other artists. It’s really special to be in this area for that particular reason.”
Paula Sundet Wolf’s work can be found on her website: wolfmeadows.com. She is also available by appointment for those interested in learning more about her work.