WHEN MY ELDEST DAUGHTER sent her children’s Christmas gift wish lists to me, I wasn’t surprised to find several art-related items on first grader Isaac’s list. He loves creating. And to create, he needs supplies. So Isaac asked for giant construction paper, a Paint by Sticker book, a pixel art set and Sharpie markers, specifically a grey marker. Why grey? I have no idea. He’s getting all of those from Randy and me.
One year Isaac wanted a ream of paper for Christmas. He blew through the 500 sheets we gave him in several months. Not only does my grandson create art, but he also solves math problems far beyond what a six-year-old should be capable of doing and recently proclaimed, “I love to read!”
I’m not sharing this to be a boastful grandma. Rather, I want to emphasize the importance of encouraging children in their interests. That builds confidence and shows that we support and care about them and their passions.
My 9-year-old granddaughter, who really really loves to read, and write, declared on her first day of fourth grade that she wants to become an author. That could change. But for now, Izzy embraces creativity through writing, singing and playing piano. And I enthusiastically encourage her.
In Faribault, I am an enthusiastic supporter of the arts, centered at the Paradise Center for the Arts. This downtown hub of creativity brings the visual and performing arts to my community via concerts, theatre, comedy, gallery shows, art classes and more.
And now, during the holiday season, 32 artists are showcasing and selling their art at the annual Holly Days Sale. I recently popped into the Paradise to peruse the artsy offerings ranging from pottery to paintings, stained glass, fiber art, mittens, jewelry, metalwork, woodwork, journals, photography, handbags and more. This is one-of-a-kind merchandise crafted with creative minds and hands by Minnesota artists.
I can’t help but wonder how many of these artists, as young children like my grandchildren, loved to create. Perhaps a grandmother taught them to sew. Perhaps they were fascinated by their grandfather’s abilities to build anything with wood. Perhaps an aunt painted. Perhaps their parents knitted or welded or journaled. Perhaps a teacher encouraged them in their creativity.
Whatever the reasons individuals choose to make art really doesn’t matter, although it is interesting to hear backstories. If they’re like me, they create because they have to and can’t imagine their lives without art. No one expects to get rich in the arts, thus the term “starving artists.” Writing and photography are, for me, passions that earn me minimal income. Yet, I press on with my creative endeavors.
Likewise all those artists selling their goods at the Holly Days Sale clearly love creating and sharing their artwork with others. I am grateful to them and to all creatives, and to arts centers like the Paradise, for enriching our communities through the arts. Perhaps some day I will see my grandson’s art in a gallery and my granddaughter’s book on a bookstore shelf. Whatever happens, I hope they will always appreciate and embrace creativity.
FYI: The Holly Days Sale continues at the Paradise from noon-5 pm Wednesday-Friday, from 10 am-2 pm Saturdays and extended hours from 10 am-5 pm December 20.
The Paradise is hosting the monthly Faribault City Council Chat at 6 pm Wednesday, December 10, as part of the city’s community engagement efforts.
The Paradise Community Theatre is currently performing “The Sound of Music” at the Paradise. Remaining performances are set for 7:30 pm December 11 and 12 and 2 pm December 13 and 14. Tickets are selling quickly, so reserve yours now.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Artwork photographed with permission of the Paradise Center for the Arts
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Finding peace outside Nerstrand Elementary School & elsewhere December 2, 2025
Tags: art, commentary, education, learning, Minnesota, Nerstrand, Nerstrand Elementary Charter School, Nerstrand Peace Garden, peace, school, small towns, Ukraine, words
I CAME OF AGE in the early 1970s near the end of the Vietnam War. Those were years of national protests and pushing for peace. Young people, especially, embraced the word “peace”—in speech, in fashion, in actions. Like so many other teens of my era, I flashed the peace sign, wore peace-themed jewelry, drew the peace symbol on the covers of school notebooks. I once wrote a poem about peace, long forgotten now and tucked into a cardboard box among other long ago musings.
Lately, I’ve been musing about peace during these tumultuous times in which we live. So I challenged myself to look around for that which uplifts, enlightens, makes me smile. Gives me a sense of peace.
I found what I sought in art, actions and, most of all, words. I am, after all, a wordsmith. Someone who works with words. Building, shaping, sharing. Someone who understands that words hold great power to build up or destroy. Someone who understands that words matter. Greatly. They can inspire, give us hope, offer peace. Or just the opposite.
With peace on my mind, I revisited the Peace Garden at Nerstrand Elementary Charter School in the rural farming community of Nerstrand, population not quite 280 and perhaps best known as home to 135-year-old family-owned Nerstrand Meats & Catering.
In 1999, the school was established as a peace site with the garden started in 2000 on the front lawn. That’s 25 years now of honoring peace. In words, art and plantings, this garden features 14 countries.
Signage at the garden emphasizes that we all live under the same sun and moon on the same planet. We are all connected and all part of building a world “to make everyone proud.” That includes the U.S., Russia, China, Mexico, Canada… This is not a political message posted outside this small town Minnesota elementary school. Rather, this is a simple statement about those of us who call planet Earth our home.
I arrived on an autumn day looking for the newest addition to the Peace Garden. Ukraine. And I found it near a picnic table and bike rack—a yellow and blue (the colors of the Ukrainian flag) planter filled with towering sunflowers past their summer prime. As I paused and read the singular word “Kiev” on a sign, I thought of the people of Ukraine. Oh, how they must yearn for peace in the midst of ongoing war.
Peace on an international scale feels elusive, as it’s always been. But then the same can be said nationally. Disagreements have flamed into much more than differences of opinion.
Yet, here I stood outside a school where children grow their knowledge, begin to understand that this world is much bigger than Nerstrand or Rice County or Minnesota or the U.S. I’m thankful that each day, as these student walk into school, they see the word “PEACE” atop the roof.
These children are our future. Perhaps they will grow to make peace marks upon their communities, maybe even the world. Perhaps they will live just ordinary lives, living peacefully among others while doing good. There’s so much potential.
I needed to walk around the Nerstrand Peace Garden, take in the words, art, plantings. In the quiet of this small town where the school sits next to farm fields, peace feels possible.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling