Sweet art

Published 9:33 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

A professional artist for the last 25 years, Kim Starr of Snoqualmie has explored light, shadow – and chocolate.

Her work over the years has included bright ocean scenes, colorful beach balls, majestic horses and pastel cats. But her latest venture puts Starr’s passion for color on the cover of a chocolate bar.

Starr’s brand, Maui Mint Chocolate, features prints of her paintings on bars of dark, mint and espresso chocolate, made by the Green River Chocolate company in Vermont.

The bars sell at Nature’s Marketplace in North Bend for about $4 per bar. Mauni Mint chocolate bars can also be found at galleries and the Chocolate Box store in Seattle.

“I’ve always wanted to do something with a gift item,” Starr said.

“It brings a smile on people’s faces,” she said of the chocolate. “And it makes me happy, too.”

The silver and jade green colors of the bar are reflected in Starr’s own collection of favorite objects, glass, silver, and stainless steel,some in colors of pale green and periwinkle, that crowd one corner of her Snoqualmie studio.

“They’re treasures,” she said. “Some of it goes into my work.”

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