Elise Isabel Andersen’s new line of note cards comes with a guarantee.

You’re guaranteed to be delighted by the colorful designs and the whimsical creatures that adorn them.

The cards are a new project for Andersen, but art and design have always been a way of life for her.

Andersen's parents, Weston and Brenda Andersen, started designing and crafting ceramics in the early 1950s. Andersen Studio/Andersen Design has been in East Boothbay since 1958. The company is known worldwide for its wildlife sculptures and contemporary functional designs.

At the present time, the business is being managed by Elise and her sister, Susan Mackenzie Andersen.

Elise Andersen has always had a hand in the design of the birds, seals, and other wild creatures that Anderson Studio is famous for. One day she looked at some the drawings she was doing as a first step in the design of a new sculpture, and realized that there was something more than a sketch there.

“In order to make a ceramic sculpture you have to study the animal,” she said. “The best way for me to do that is to do a ton of line drawings of the animals. The drawings themselves are so much fun, even without the color.”

Andersen began working with her sketches using a graphics program on her computer. “It's really the same thing as doing it with a brush, just using different tools within the program,” she said. “I use the same process in the design. I think of myself more as a designer than a painter.”

The Smithsonian Institute has shown some interest in Andersen's cards. “Andersen Design has been working with the Smithsonian Catalog for over 30 years, with a conservative estimate of over 25,000 handcrafted ceramic, sandpipers, bluebirds and vases among them,” she said. “We are currently discussing new products, including my new line of my cards, based on the animal motifs that have been so popular.” 

“I love Elise’s new line of cards,” said local painter Helen Farnham. “They are wonderful, little works of art. Each one is playful and fun, and looking at them makes me happy.”

All six of Weston and Brenda Andersen's children are artists in their own right. Aside from designing and working on sculptures, and website design, Susan Mackenzie Andersen has a side business doing photography and giclee printing that some say look like paintings.

All have had a part in the Andersen Studio ceramics designs, and most are painters.

Along with the note cards, Elise Andersen is producing a line of boxes with a ceramic tile on the cover. She is looking for a craftsperson to help with the production of wood boxes.

Andersen’s cards, along with some of Andersen Studio’s ceramics, are at the Southport Library’s arts and craft show this weekend.

For more information, call 207-449-1449 or visit Andersen Studio's website, or Elise Isabel Andersen's Facebook page. Or better yet, visit the Andersen Studio on the corner of Route 96 and Andersen Road in East Boothbay.