Anna Vinten (nee: Vinten-Johansen) grew up in Connecticut and Michigan, with degrees in Scandinavian studies, vocal performance, and fine arts. A Fulbright scholar, she studied folk music and poetry in Norway. Marriage sparked her artmaking, leading to a BFA in Art Education and teaching/performing in Austria with her family before their 2019 move to western Michigan. Inspired by a Dutch children commission, I explored archival images, drawn to the strength of a past culture despite it not being my own. The original black and white photos shifted my focus from color to light, dark, line, form, tone, and pattern, blending abstract and real. Using varied media on canvas or wood, each piece was a learning process, sometimes involving sketches. I value this deep dive into another world.