Minnesota native, Anna Lassonde, is an visual artist based out of Detroit Lakes, MN. She does book illustrations, commissions, and murals, and she also teaches art classes for people of all ages, including senior citizens through community programming.

Living on a farm in rural Minnesota, Anna finds her farm animals to be a constant source of inspiration. The chickens are particularly inspiring because of how inquisitive, cute, and interactive they are.

She has illustrated two children’s books, A Day in the Bog with Frog and Dog (by Carol Grina 2021) and Seraphina the Ballerina (by Dawn Duncan 2022).

Most of her artwork is done in acrylics or collages, although she also ventures into sketches, watercolor, and photography.

In 2019, she did two large mural projects. For one of them, she traveled all the way to Lubango, Angola, to paint a 120-foot spiritual mural at a missions hospital. This project involved a team of 10 others from Minnesota and the local Angolan community. Anna created and coordinated the mural. The second project was a restoration of the 128 ft. historic mural by Del and Frieda Iron Cloud in Ashley, North Dakota, originally painted in 1996.  She partnered with artist Nicole Gagner, together they worked on color matching the faded paint colors to their original bright and vivid colors from a photograph without compromising the original art.

In addition to making art, Anna shares the process of art with her community by offering various art classes. Sharing art is her passion, particularly for those who do not have an opportunity for art. For example, Anna worked in healthcare for most of her life and saw that the senior citizens who she worked with in long-term care really enjoyed the art classes she would offer them. Some residents wanted to continue creating outside of class time, but they did not have access to art materials. To meet this need in her community, Anna secured her first art grant to ensure the senior citizens would have the opportunity to access the arts. She has continued to make art accessible for others by offering painting classes at a nursing home, community classes at the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes, and painting parties for individuals or events. There is also a classroom location next to her studio, downtown Detroit Lakes.

Anna Lassonde believes art is to be enjoyed by everyone no matter what skill level, and there is an artist inside of everyone!