Photos by Caroline Yang
While Margit Schmitt’s mother is originally from the Twin Cities, the family moved to the arts town of Ojai, California, when she was young. With its emphasis on organic agriculture; outdoor recreation; and music, theater, and art; Ojai inspired Schmitt’s love of nature, as did her education at a Jiddu Krishnamurti school, “where students are encouraged to ask deep questions that flower from a truth within.” “The school definitely influenced how I view the world as an artist,” says Schmitt, nurturing her as both a budding talent and masterful painter of exquisite florals.
She moved back to the Midwest in 1996, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul in 2010. Since then, Schmitt has not only exhibited in the CVA Gallery, Raymond Gallery, and Park Square Theatre but also has collaborated with interior designers and clients on various art projects.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
[I knew] during high school. I had several teachers who fostered my abilities. My parents have always deeply supported the arts and supported me. But once I learned of the different avenues an artist can take, I realized I could be a voice for people who don’t have the same artistic abilities; meaning, if you were on vacation and would love a memory of that landscape in your home, I can create that. Or, if you can’t bear to part with your wedding bouquet, let me paint the bouquet as a fresh, tangible memory for you.
Why are florals your primary subject?
Flowers are so short-lived. They’re a great metaphor for life, in that we try to control them, put them in gardens, cut them, and arrange them in vases to capture their beauty. But inevitably, they dry out and perish. There’s a beautiful balance between worlds captured in flowers. It’s about enjoying the wildness that’s there and our own human desire to control them.
How would you describe your artistic style?
I would describe it as abstract representational. I love when my audience can recognize something immediately and sit with it, then enjoy the abstraction or the hidden shadows. I want to draw the audience in but not give it all away. As a mother, wife, and artist, my work also expresses the challenge of belonging—and of balancing worlds—through representational and abstract elements.
What are you working on these days?
When my kids were little, I did watercolors at the kitchen table, but the work has morphed as they’ve grown. I’m doing larger-scale oils and commissions with interior designers, including quite a few projects with Charles Cudd Co., MartinPatrick 3, and James McNeal Architecture + Design (JMAD). Those projects vary from custom ceiling tiles and wall murals in powder rooms and nurseries to canvases installed in homes. It’s all about providing the homeowners with the floral beauty they desire.
