What others may see as this week’s trash, Baton Rouge artist Victoria Petersen sees as next month’s project.
Through her business Heart over Harvest, Petersen creates wooden wall fixtures, furniture, macrame hangings and jewelry and sells them at local art markets like the Mid City Makers Market and her Etsy shop, heartoverharvest.
“I do everything,” Petersen said. “I can’t make up my mind.”
Though her projects vary, they all aim to breathe new life into old objects — in many cases, ones that are about to be thrown away. Whether it’s an old chair that needs a back or a stained table that needs to be refinished, Petersen sees a quick fix where many would see a lost cause.
“I just hate people throwing things away so I end up with a lot of garbage,” Petersen said.
Originally from Connecticut, Petersen and her family moved to Baton Rouge when Petersen was 7 years old due to a transfer by her father’s insurance company. She has called the Capital City home ever since.
The relocation was followed by a change in Petersen’s father’s career as her parents opened their own furniture store, Kayu Furniture Imports. Working at her father’s shop introduced Petersen to the world of crafting. There she would refinish furniture and make necklaces out of leftover wooden scraps, she said.
As Petersen began drawing and painting at an early age, the environment coupled with her creative inclination built the framework for what officially became Heart over Harvest in June 2016.
Petersen has her own backyard studio for desk work, but most of her work is done in her garage. Scrap pieces of plywood, rack, clamps and nail guns line her workspace when she has room to cut wood and lay it out exactly how she wants it before gluing it.
“I lay everything out like a huge puzzle, a big grown-up wood puzzle,” Petersen said.
Once her work is glued, she nails and frames it. A typical piece takes her about six hours, she said.
One of Petersen’s most unique pieces is a coffee table she made out of an old upright piano from her father’s store. After removing some pieces from the piano, built legs for it she turned it into a glass table — a task that proved time-consuming due to the sheer size and weight of the instrument.
She brought the table to display at one of the Mid City Makers Markets — without the glass — and let passing children strum the strings and have fun with it, she said.
Petersen has recently expanded her talents to home renovations after she and her husband purchased a ‘70s style Kenilworth home almost four years ago. What started as removing the popcorn texture from the ceilings turned into a full-scale renovation. From building countertops to demolishing walls, the couple has single-handedly remodeled their home themselves.
The open floor plan and light colors give the home a modern vibe, but Petersen’s decor ensures no other home is quite like it. Their home is filled to the brim with one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted items, from refurbished furniture to macrame hangings to a giant repurposed mirror.
With the renovations, Petersen was able to gain new woodworking skills and add interior design to her repertoire, an avenue she hopes to pursue in the future, she said.
While Petersen is unsure what lies ahead for Heart over Harvest, she’s focusing on enjoying her crafts rather than turning a profit — a philosophy that inspired the name of the business, she said.
“It’s about loving what I’m doing more than worrying about the harvest or the money I’m making,” Petersen said.
Petersen’s next show will be Nov. 4 at Local Love Fest at Whole Foods Market on the corner of Jefferson Highway and Corporate Boulevard.
Victoria Petersen works on a new piece of artork at her workstation on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 at her home studio.
