Blossoming late: A new State Fair crop artist emerges in retirement

When Maureen Sorensen talks about her crop art, it sounds like she is writing a love letter to the state of Minnesota. 

The Witch’s Tower, ice fishing and loons — just a few of the things she thinks represent the state best.

For the last 50 years, Sorensen, or Mrs. Pours on social media, has made the crop art display at the Minnesota State Fair one of her first stops. She would admire it and go forth with her fair day, but it lingered in her mind. Could she make art like that? She couldn’t think of a reason not to.

“My daughter said, ‘Why don’t you do crop art?’ I needed a new hobby, so we did her dog Bryndal as my first crop art,” Sorensen said.

After working at 3M for decades, Sorensen retired. She had not pursued art before then, but after retirement, she began by doing stained glass in her free time. After she mastered that, she moved on to painting and did 1,200 pieces in two years. 

At her daughter’s suggestion, she submitted two pieces in 2023: Bryndal the dog and the Stone Arch Bridge. The pup got fifth place in her category, and the bridge now hangs in Terminal 1 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Sorensen often repeats pieces so she can improve. She has several submissions for the 2024 fair including ones centered on LGBTQ+ Pride, Timberwolves’ player Naz Reid and a neighbor’s cat — but the showstopper is her kaleidoscope. 

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Imagine this: A kaleidoscope fully decorated in seeds representing different parts of Minnesota including Scandinavian folk art, Hmong embroidery, indigenous flowers and Somali weaving. When you look through the glass, there are over two dozen discs to examine. Each one has been carefully curated to give you Minnesota experiences including the Boundary Waters, Babe the Blue Ox and even chef Yia Vang.

“I want to symbolize that we see things differently,“ Sorensen said about her kaleidoscope. “These are iconic images in my world, the snow plows, the biggest ball of twine, the lady slipper … We are all these things in my world. We are Minnesota nice, we are meat raffles.”

In her basement, Sorensen describes constructing her crop art as a type of therapy. She puts on the television in the background or sometimes a podcast. She takes her magnifying glasses and gets to work. 

The 75-year-old says she never does anything halfway. 

“It might take me from 8 o’clock in the morning until 2:30 in the morning with a couple breaks, it is very meticulous,” she says. “I’m kind of like my mother, I can do something really well once — and in crop art, that’s all you get.”

But a crop artist has to be careful, Sorensen says it can get pretty messy quickly. She has an organizer for her seeds and acrylic paints. On a recent flight, she brought seeds in a medicine box so she could keep working on the go. 

Her seeds usually come from her local co-op. Per State Fair rules, only seeds that can be grown in Minnesota can be used, such as quinoa, grass and broccoli. Sometimes seeds can be painted, other times they need to retain their natural color. Each category has specific rules. 

The level of detail in Sorensen’s work keeps her busy, but she admits she may have overextended herself this year with seven entries. 

She isn’t sure if she will keep doing crop art next year. She says only time will tell — she may be onto a new art adventure. 

“I will always enjoy crop art, I will always go see it. What a joy it has been this year,” she said.

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