Inside the Studio: Artist Adele Koskela tangles ZenDels

Arts | December 22nd, 2015

By M. Koskela

You may be wondering, what exactly are ZenDels? Originally a watercolor landscape artist, Adele Koskela started learning tangling and soon developed a form of tangling she now calls ZenDels. They combine tangling concepts with landscape designs, creating delicate and intricate designs all originally designed by her.

Sometimes her landscapes are of places she has been such as Split Rock in Duluth, Minn. or Itasca State Park. Others are imagined, as in “Ladies of Serenity,” in which she hopes all women can feel a sense of community and support; or “Behind the Moos,” which is a sort of joke featuring the backsides of cows in a barn, designed with bright neon colors.

In some of her pieces, she hides little penguins to draw people even closer to her art to try and find the penguin. Some of her students wouldn’t sit still long enough to look at her artwork so she made a game out of finding the penguin! Although she used this mostly for her watercolor paintings, Koskela has continued to use the penguin in some of her tangles. Her tangles draw people into her booth space at events, even without the penguins.

A practicing artist for nearly 30 years, Koskela finds great enjoyment teaching home-schooled children and families art forms and techniques, and conducts workshops upon request.

She has also served as President of the Northern Lights Art Guild, and is a member of the Hjemkomst Art Group, Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists and Red River Watercolor Society. Koskela has also been an Artist in Residence in several local school districts in Minnesota.

Adele Koskela teaches herself about every artist she teaches and practices every art form and technique that she has students practice. She is well equipped to work with all age groups. Most of her classes are held at the students’ home or at a different location, keeping her studio space for herself.

Her studio time allows her to tune into her artwork and just focus on the tangling in her landscapes. Sometimes her designs take 12 hours to complete, others taking many days or even weeks depending on the size of the piece. Being a night owl, she often starts working on a tangle in the evening and before she knows it, it’s the next morning.

Tangling her ZenDels has given her a sort of release, using and teaching her landscaped tangles as a sort of art therapy. People who stop by to visit her will find themselves tangling and afterwards say it was calming and soothing. After visiting Koskela, they have gone home and made their own tangle creations and were surprised about how much they enjoyed the process.

Aside from teaching, you may have seen Koskela at events in the Fargo-Moorhead area with her ZenDels posted around her booth space. Maybe you have seen her exhibit at the Hawley Art Show where she won 1st, 2nd Place and People’s Choice in 2014 and 2015; or the Pekin Art Show in which she won 1st Place in her division.

Wherever you see or talk to Koskela about her art, one thing is clear: she is dedicated and passionate about what she does.

Website: www.mkoskelastudios.com/adele-koskela.html

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