MEMBER PROFILE // Ellen Espelund, 3rd Ward's Transatlantic Member

Ellen Espelund3rd Ward attracts all sorts of amazing folks, but it's somethin' else when a member signs up from across the Atlantic.

That's what Ellen Espelund did, becoming a 3rd Ward member while living 3,640 miles in Lillehammer, Norway. Knowing that she would need a place to work during future stays in New York, Espelund joined without ever having seen our space. "When you come from abroad it’s good to find the right artistic environment where you can feel at home in a way, so you can concentrate on your projects, because New York is such a big city," she says. "I simply felt 3rd Ward was the right place for me."

Espelund is a fine artist working with photography, painting and poetry. "My paintings are usually mixed media, the newest containing gold, silver and bronze," she says. "My photographs are built up in a special way regarding lighting and more. I'm inspired by how photographers worked in a time gone by."

Espelund visited 3rd Ward for the first time to take part in our Member Show and had a blast (check out more about her visit on Norway.org). " I had long planned to go to New York and do some projects, but suddenly I was there to exhibit," she says. "As with many artists, I’m more shy than people are aware of because I can seem outgoing, and it was an enormous amount of new people at once, but they were all so welcoming and nice, so it went fine. I loved it!"

Right now Espelund is working on multiple things. "One of these projects, the one I’m working most intensely on right now, is about death, but not in the way most people would associate when they hear that word," she says. "Like in my other projects this one is also connected to the authenticity in how we live our lives, and the way we dare or not to go our own way, to realize our dreams. It's connected to the joy of living."

Check out some examples of Espelund's work after the jump and look for way more from her in the future. "There might be some cool happenings later this year if things go according to plan," she says. "If not, look out for 2012..."

"I dreamed a dream"

"I want my freedom"

"Life...LOVE...Dreams" (detail)