About Katmai Kreations Books
Katmai Kreations is a collaborative between two friends, Karisse VanWingerden, and Laura Brown. With two decades worth of custom framing experience between them, they realized that there was a need for high-quality images that could be framed in standard sized picture frames. The images within Alaskan Wildflowers are hand-drawn from photographic references taken in Alaska by the Authors, and have been designed to fit standard 8x10 matting or frames. Alaskan Wildflowers is the first book in a series of educational adult coloring books geared towards celebrating the great state of Alaska. Both of the authors are deeply in love with the state they call home, and draw upon their experiences here to bring a unique voice to their new company. Karisse VanWingerden is a lifelong Alaskan, with native roots that link her to the Aleut tribes that inhabited this wild land long before American settlers ever arrived. Her heritage is rich with stories and a special way of life that has been passed down for generations. Her family still celebrates many of the traditions observed by their ancestors, from hunting and fishing, to gathering berries and trading stories around the fire. Laura Brown was a military-brat who first stepped foot in Alaska in 1986, and instantly fell in love with everything it had to offer. After moving away and living in California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Alabama, she finally got to move back to where her heart had always been. Even though she'd been gone for ten years, she fell back into life in Alaska as if no time had passed. She's lived here ever since, and considers herself a true Alaskan. Her love of flowers comes from her Grandmother, Honey, who taught her a lot about gardening, and who mailed her fresh tomatoes from her garden every year no matter where Laura lived. In 2009 Laura married her best friend, whom she'd met when she'd first moved to Alaska in 1986, and has 2 (sometimes) wonderful children. Laura and Karisse met in 2006 while working together, and became fast friends. The first time Karisse invited Laura fishing, her family welcomed Laura's family as if they'd always known each other, and taught them how to dip-net, fillet fish, and smoke salmon. The VanWingerden's are a wealth of information and are always willing to teach someone who wants to learn. Their fire is a great place to talk fish, trade stories, laugh and eat fry-bread.
