From hand-drawn stickers to full murals, this artist is proving vulnerability is rewarding if you just let go

Written by Jessi Bang
June 14, 2023

IVINS — Stepping into Alex Petersen’s cozy apartment from the concrete jungle of the university’s on-campus exterior housing is like stepping into another world.

Pete and Pen owner Alex Peterson smiles for a photo inside her home art studio, Ivins, Utah, June 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Pete and Pen owner Alex Petersen smiles while inside her home art studio, Ivins, Utah, June 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

The walls are lined with plants and art. To the right of the entrance sits a colorful room filled with magic. And it’s quite the sight to take in.

As your eyes scan the walls, you find yourself pausing at the  “Crying But Trying” teardrop sticker, then a “Hugs + Hisses” cat design. The “Sandstone & Sunshine” sticker stops you in your tracks and you smile as you pick it up.

“This is the cleanest my studio has ever been,” Petersen said, laughing. “This is how I want it to look every day. And it will never look like this ever again.”

Petersen owns Pete & Pen, a business that offers her hand-drawn designs on stickers, cards and prints. The “Pete” in her name is a play on her last name Petersen and a nickname that her friends gave her in school.

Hand drawn stickers by Pete & Pen are on display in Ivins, Utah, June 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Hand-drawn stickers by Pete & Pen are on display in Ivins, Utah, June 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Originally from Idaho, she and her husband moved to Ivins two years ago so he could attend Rocky Vista University medical school. Rock climbers and lovers of the outdoors, the pair quickly fell in love with the scenery and everything the area had to offer.

After settling into student housing just as the pandemic struck, Petersen said it fed into her social anxiety and she found herself barely leaving the apartment. When she decided to offer her art at her first local market, she said it “lit a fire … ” to get creative while getting to know people in the community.

But her art talents didn’t start here.

“I’m a self-taught artist,” Petersen said. “My dad is a really talented artist, so I got mostly the natural talent from my dad.”

In high school, she became known for her hand lettering and was designated the “sign girl.” Her initial intentions were to have her own T-shirt business and go to college for a business degree, but when school “didn’t agree with her,” and making her own T-shirts didn’t feel like the right creative outlet, she switched gears.

Alex Peterson works on a mural at Pick Me up in Rexburg, Idaho, June 2021 | Photo courtesy of Alex Peterson, St. George News
Alex Petersen works on a mural at Pick Me up in Rexburg, Idaho, June 2021 | Photo courtesy of Alex Petersen, St. George News

Following in her mom’s retail footsteps, Petersen worked in management at Hobby Lobby for four and a half years while doing her art part-time, which included hand-drawn cards and freelance digital design. 

“I like stationery products,” she said. “It’s almost like paper and novelty items to me just bring so much joy, and I feel like they bring a lot of joy to other people. I could go shop in a little stationary shop all day long and just look at everything. I think it’s so fun and witty.”

Going through a minimalistic phase, she quit her job, sold most of her belongings and planned to live life on the road in a van as a traveling artist. But life had other plans. 

“I actually bought two vans,” she said. “Then I met Murray and he ruined my van life – in the best way possible. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Around that same time, she completed her first mural near Twin Falls, Idaho, which ended up being the entire interior of a home. The mural project took a year and a half to complete and included detailed galaxies, a Spongebob sky, mountainscapes, a bamboo forest and more.

Alex Peterson works her Pete & Pen booth at a local market in St. George, Utah, May 2023 | Photo courtesy of Alex Peterson, St. George News
Alex Petersen works her Pete & Pen booth at a local market in St. George, Utah, May 2023 | Photo courtesy of Alex Petersen, St. George News

When she discovered she could turn her art into stickers, she began ordering them online six years ago and recently transitioned into making her own stickers with a Cricut machine.

All products by Pete and Pen are now made and printed in-house. Petersen said she’s not sure if it’s because she’s a control freak or not,  but she loves the ability to own the entire process and claim the work as her own from start to finish.

“Most of them are just made from the heart,” she said about her witty sticker designs. “It’s like feral housewives. I read this thing online somewhere that said if there are domestic housewives, that suggest that feral housewives exist, and I was like, that’s me.”

Her designs are mainly focused on positive mental health messages or anything that makes people laugh. As for her murals, they can be seen all over Idaho in everything from soda shops to colonial theaters.

And now, she’s painting Southern Utah. See her work inside Super Chix at the Shops and Zion and inside the consignment shop Indy Clover.

As an artist, Petersen said “imposter syndrome” never quite goes away, and she’s constantly critiquing her own designs. But the vulnerability makes it all worth it when she’s able to celebrate her own wins.

A hand painted mural inside Super Chix is completed by Alex Peterson in St. George, Utah, March 2021 | Photo courtesy of Alex Peterson, St. George News
A hand-painted mural inside Super Chix is completed by Alex Petersen in St. George, Utah, March 2021 | Photo courtesy of Alex Petersen, St. George News

“When you’re hired for your first mural, or when you sell your first product, that‘s what makes it worth it,” she said. “It can validate that your art does bring joy to other people, and that’s what’s important to me and why I do what I do. It brings joy to me, it brings joy to others, so why not do it?”

As for future goals, she plans to sell her products wholesale and focus on murals for both small businesses and residential homes which will allow her creativity to flourish.

Shop Pete & Pen products online here. Browse her art in person at the downtown Modern Farm and Artisan Co-op or the St. George Downtown Farmers Market on Saturdays. Follow @peteandpen on Instagram for all the artistic adventures.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, “The Rambling Raccoon.” In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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