Cooper Hewitt says...
Dawn Erickson knew from a very early age that she wanted to be an artist. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design Dawn Erickson moved to New York and became an independent artist and designer. In her life Erickson has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Eastern Europe, India, Russia, and Turkey. This travel experience remains an influential source of inspiration which is evident in her design work. Within her designs Erickson experiments with color, line, and symbols to create handmade effects. Her informal aesthetic is inspired by images of everyday life, which can be as simple as driving by a roadside shrine or sorting through objects at a dime store. She attempts to tell stories visually through her work which connect her personal life lessons with those of other times and cultures. Her hope is to generate dialogues that cross cultural and political barriers to enrich people’s lives by exposing them to a rich variety of stories. Erickson believes that art is a common language and the link to a shared humanity and she utilizes her designs to help tell these stories.
Erickson lives in Red Wing, Minnesota, where she still practices both fine art and design for home textiles. She has experience designing a wide variety of home goods, from bedding to gift wrap. Erickson has designed for many notable companies including Papyrus-Recycled Greetings, Target, Eddie Bauer, and Crate&Barrel.
