Artist: Tiffany Besonen

Step One — Video Interview

July 21st


I met with Tiffany Besonen in late July for a video interview and an initial photographic session inside her studio near Menahga, Minnesota. This first step in the Heartland Portraits process is rooted in listening—creating space for artists to speak about their work in their own words before interpretation enters the frame. I asked the same set of questions to each artist yet received wonderfully varied responses.

I selected Tiffany after a brief but memorable conversation at the Nemeth Art Center. She was picking up work from the high school art show, and I remember thinking, yes—of course you would be a perfect candidate for this project. As co-owners of Studio 176, I have long admired Tiffany’s steady presence and have always been inspired by her thoughtful, wise advice.

Tiffany’s practice examines environmental, social, psychological, and physical connections—and disconnections—whether she is working independently or in collaboration with others. During our conversation, she spoke thoughtfully about how teaching, making, and living in rural Minnesota shaped her creative life. An art educator since 1993, Tiffany brings decades of experience to both her studio practice and her deep commitment to building creative confidence in others.

Her work has been exhibited nationally since 2004, including at SOHO20 Gallery in New York City, and she is a three-time recipient of the Minnesota State Arts Board’s Creative Individuals grant. This interview offered an entry point into a practice that is layered, reflective, and deeply rooted in lived experience.


The Studio Visits

August 28th


I returned in mid-August for a second studio visit to spend time with Tiffany in the space where her ideas are actively taking shape. Studio visits offer a different kind of understanding—one rooted in proximity to materials, process, and the physical evidence of a life devoted to making. In this visit, Tiffany’s studio, the old farmhouse she once lived was focused on her assemblage sculptures.

Tiffany’s studio reflects the complexity of her work. Mixed media pieces, repurposed materials, and works in progress coexist in a way that mirrors the themes she explores memory, connection, transformation, and renewal. Her recent exhibition Wall of Artifacts & Rising Panels at the Armory Gallery in Park Rapids presented a non-linear timeline of stories and experience objects arranged not to explain, but to invite reflection.

During this visit, Tiffany reworked some of these pieces previously displayed. Her process is one of circling back and moving forward at the same time—disconnecting from distraction in order to reconnect with what remains essential. The studio becomes not just a place of production, but of inquiry and self-discovery.



A black and white panoramic view of small rural houses nestled among trees on a grassy hillside.
A black and white photograph shows a person standing in a doorway of a house with trees framing the entrance.
Black and white photo series showing medical procedures and patient care in a hospital setting.
A black and white collage of vintage photographs showing people in various indoor settings and poses.
Black and white photo of an artist's workspace with sketches and drawings scattered across a desk.
Black and white panoramic view of a modern dining room with mounted deer heads and large windows.
Black and white photo sequence showing someone enjoying coffee and working at a desk with a laptop.
A black and white panoramic photo showing a rustic log cabin porch with rocking chairs and hanging flower baskets.
Black and white photograph of someone sitting on a tree swing in a backyard garden setting.
A black and white photo series showing someone seated on a porch in casual attire with varying poses.
A collection of vintage wooden telephone booths and payphone stations arranged in a museum-like display.
Black and white portrait series showing someone seated at a desk in an industrial workspace.
Black and white photo of a group dancing and celebrating at what appears to be a lively party or social gathering.
A series of black and white images showing hands working with a chain in dim lighting.
A series of black and white photos showing someone posing with an ornate vintage mirror in different positions.

The Portrait Session

January 4th


The studio portrait session marks the final step in Tiffany’s Heartland Portraits process. After conversation and time spent in her working environment, the portrait becomes a distilled moment—an opportunity to reflect the presence behind the practice. She brought with her a wire sculpture of a pear, which I later learned through her writing holds deep familial meaning.

Tiffany wrote:

“Pears started in my work when expecting my first child. Now both ‘children’ are in college, and yet the intense connection remains tethered to my heart and gut. The process of creating these two- and three-dimensional works became a process of self-discovery. Who am I now? What forms with wool, wire, and a vintage box? What happens when the boxed forms are photographed, digitally altered, printed large, and drawn and painted upon? As I disconnect from distractions and the past, I connect to the present to form, reform, and form myself again.”

Rather than illustrating the work itself, this session focuses on the qualities that shape it: attentiveness, vulnerability, and an ongoing negotiation between past and present. Tiffany’s work asks questions about who we are becoming, what we carry forward, and what we choose to release. The portrait responds to those questions quietly, through light, posture, and expression.

This final step is less about conclusion and more about recognition—a moment to acknowledge an artist deeply rooted in place, committed to teaching and making, and willing to sit with uncertainty as part of the creative process.

A black and white photo series showing a figure in a dark turtleneck striking different dynamic poses against a dark backdrop.
Black and white portrait photo series showing five headshots of someone in a leather jacket and black turtleneck.
Black and white portrait series showing different angles and expressions in dramatic lighting and shadow.
A dramatic black and white photo sequence shows a figure in motion leaping and twirling against a dark background.
Black and white portrait series showing a person in dark clothing and glasses against a dark background.
Professional black and white headshot portraits of someone in business attire against a dark background.
A dramatic black and white portrait sequence showing a person with long hair tilting their head back in silhouette.
Black and white profile portrait of a person in a leather jacket looking upward against a dark background.
Black and white portrait series showing a person holding a glass lens or magnifying object over their eye in different poses.
Black and white portrait series showing a person with glasses and shoulder-length hair in various expressive poses.
A person with blonde hair dances in silhouette against a dark background in a sequence of six dynamic poses.

Heartland Portraits by Jeremy Simonson


Jeremy Simonson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.



With the support of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, I’m launching Heartland Portraits—a photographic project that documents the lives, stories, and creative spaces of culture bearers and artisans in the Heartland Lakes region of Minnesota.

Through interviews, documentary photography, and portraiture, this project celebrates the rich cultural heritage of our community while challenging me to grow as both photographer and storyteller. Having been shaped by the creative spirit of this region myself, I’m excited to shine a light on the artists who make this place truly special.



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