A new art exhibit featuring the work of Elsie Husom is on display at the Brainerd Public Library through the end of June.

The exhibit includes 20 pieces of both abstract and representational art. Husom works in a number of mediums, from acrylic paint to alcohol ink and collage, but her favorite medium is assemblage, which combines multiples elements made up of everyday objects and mixes them with otherwise normal paintings.

“My first attempts were not great, but it was fun, and that’s what counted,” said Husom. “I like the unexpected, but I also like something to turn out the way I want it to turn out, so there’s maybe a battle inside me each time, and I can keep moving things around, and then I usually leave it for at least a day, and I might go back and just move one little piece or two pieces or whatever, until I get it the way I think, ‘Okay, I can handle that.'”

Husom began making art as a hobby after retiring from teaching despite never taking formal art classes.

By — Lakeland News