Today, I welcome back and offer a giveaway from dig sponsor tart!

Tart is a boutique bursting with Montana craft, art and handmades. We have a lot of talent in our great state and tart curates a selection of the best. Tart is in its third year as a dig sponsor and today we are it sharing  a little interview with tartress Anna Visscher.

You are continually shaking things up at tart. What’s new and exciting this summer?

We’re excited to be expanding our ceramics offerings with some really fabulous ceramic artists from Missoula and Bozeman. Shalene Valenzuela, Alison Reintjes, Josh DeWeese and Ben Studer have all joined our lineup in the last few months. Representing more ceramics artists has been a goal for long time, and we finally figured out how to make it work in our gallery space. Ceramics are one of my favorite art forms because it’s art you can use every day. How amazing to be able to eat off of or drink out of an original piece of art!

We also just took on a new tartist named Sarah Angst who does lovely hand colored linocuts. We’re excited to have her on board – she’s great and creates a widely varying body of work that contains something for everyone.

What’s hot right now? Your best-sellers?

We have some really incredible gallery shows coming up. Nick Mask is the featured artist this June, with abstract oil paintings of the Gallatin River and Cottonwood Creek. Then Gabriel Kulka will show his haunting and beautiful sculpture. Followed by Maggy Hiltner with a camping themed show created using her intricate and slightly naughty stitchery.

Anything with the state of Montana on it is hot right now. Dig tees and hoodies, Hattie Rex pendants, Montana Territory Metalworks belt buckles, Little Green Things sewn wood art – people love it all! It’s fun to see such state pride.

You are very good at your job. Every encounter I have with you exclaims passion, energy and excitement. I think you and all you do is awesome! What is your favorite part of your work?

I have so many favorite parts to my job. Mentoring and collaborating with artists and watching them grow and evolve their businesses is right up there. It’s always such an exciting moment when a tartist quits their day job to dedicate all their time to their art.

I also love our customers – I feel so privileged to be able to watch people and relationships change and evolve. Sometimes we are lucky enough to watch someone pick out a first Valentine’s gift, then gifts for their bridesmaids and groomsmen, then baby gifts, then subsequent anniversaries… getting to see the paths peoples’ lives take and be part of all of those happy moments is pretty darn awesome.

I also adore seeing collaborations between tartists, like Native Ideals Seed Farm asking Courtney Blazon to do the art for their seed packets. I get crazy happy seeing that kind of symbiotic relationship, and also seeing an opportunity to put art on something that has been traditionally fairly art-less.

Thanks, Anna! You all may recognize Courtney’s Blazon’s design style? She is the super star who also designed the dig blog art right up there at the top of this page. And! one of you lucky ducks will WIN six stunning seed satchels (only if you can say that 10 times fast). Leave a comment for a chance at it! Comments close on Saturday, June 8.

Comments closed. Randomly selected winner: lucky #7! Congrats Jesse B!

All of you can always have free shipping with coupon code DIG THIS.

Thank you, tart!