Since the 2019 launch of the Ag Art Gallery at MFB’s State Annual Meeting, the metal works of Eaton County sisters Katelyn and Kylie Thompson have earned consistent favor — and fetched consistently high auction bids.
At the inaugural Gallery in 2019, their “Out to Pasture in Fall” took Best of Show honors and added $1,300 to the coffers of the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture. After the pandemic-forced hiatus of 2020, the Thompsons bounced back in 2021 with another Best in Show entry: “Autumn’s Pasture” sold for $2,900, as did a duplicate pledged to a rival bidder to bring that year’s total to $5,800.
Similar bids in 2023 and ’24 helped solidified the Thompson sisters’ near-dominance of the Ag Art Gallery by adding thousands every year to the Foundation’s bottom line.
On a recent raining morning at the Eaton County Fair, where she was readying to staff her county Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education exhibit, I spoke with Katelyn Thompson about her and her sister’s sideline as ag artists. Here’s a condensed version of our conversation:
JEREMY: I’m convinced Farm Bureau members are more creative than they let on. How would you encourage people to explore that?
KATELYN: I think the best way is to find something you really enjoy doing, and how that either is a form of art or can turn into a form of art.
When Kylie and I were in 4-H — welding was one of our first projects, so our dad was teaching two young girls, like 8 and 9 years old, how to weld! It was a little rough, I’m not going to lie, but dad was always doing metalwork, so for us it goes back generations.
Start with something small — like just take off a bite-size piece. Pinterest is great for ideas. If there’s a project you’ve seen in the Ag Art Gallery and you’re like, “I would like to do that” — whether it’s photography or what we do or something else, reach out to them!
JEREMY: Welding and farming go hand-in-hand, and creativity and ingenuity are pretty much the same thing. I’ve visited a lot of farm shops where they’re fabricating their own equipment. I can’t even imagine the creativity that takes.
KATELYN: We started designing our own stuff — farm signs and more artsy pieces. Farmers are very technical people, however that technical stuff still has a creative or artsy side to it.
Art is in the eye of the beholder. You see one thing and are like, “Wow, that’s a beautiful piece of art.” Somebody else is going to see it and say it belongs in the garbage!
I’m an imperfect perfectionist. One technique I like is messy painting on stuff because I don’t have to worry about scratches or bubbles or whatever. We mix a lot of rusting effects with paint and things — looks like you just pulled it together, but you don’t have to stress about how perfect it is.
JEREMY: Could you talk more about your process?
KATELYN: We use a Plasma CAM system that operates like a CAD program: You design in that and then it’ll cut out the parts from 14-gauge steel. Then when we fabricate with some stick welding.
Welding is a combination of science and art: You have to have the right angle, the right speed, the right look, the right color — all that. You can also tell a lot by just listening to what that a weld sounds like: How crackly is it? Does it sound like an egg frying?
JEREMY: What do you two have in mind for this year’s Ag Art Gallery?
KATELYN: I don’t even know! Usually I come up with the initial idea, talk it over with Kylie and it evolves from there. We like adding some dimension to stuff — like bending out the steel on the branches of a tree, or layering things like we did last year. Overall we lean toward cows because that’s our background, but we try to do something different every year.
JEREMY: How long does it take? When you look at the calendar and say, “Hey Kylie we better get started!”
KATELYN: I’d love to say now. I’ll start thinking about the next project after we finish the previous one. It’s always on the back burner, simmering. I work well under pressure. Last year we were finishing painting in the hotel room, the night before the auction!
Entries for the 2025 Ag Art Gallery will be accepted through Nov. 3 and displayed prominently at Michigan Farm Bureau’s 2025 State Annual Meeting, Dec. 2-3 in Grand Rapids. The top three popular vote getters will be auctioned off live; those not selected will be available via silent auction.
A 501c3 formed by Michigan Farm Bureau, the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture’s mission is to positively contribute to the future of Michigan agriculture through leadership and educational programming, including MFB’s Young Farmer and Promotion & Education programs. Donations are tax-deductible and easy to squeeze in before the end of the tax year; just click here!
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