Beauty in the barn

There's nothing artificial about Cindie Sinclair. Or the 1880s former dairy farm east of St. Paul, Minnesota, where she lives and works. Vines cover a traditional red barn and a cottage. Islands of colorful hydrangeas and peonies dot a green, grassy paddock. In an open-sided shed where cows once rested, a workshop is in session.

Cindie is an artist, and like French impressionist painter Claude Monet, who found unique beauty in ponds of water lilies, she takes both her inspiration and much of her raw materials from this secluded country oasis of only 12 acres. Cindie is a floral designer who weaves unmatched creations, sometimes from roses and hops -- the perennial vine whose fruit adds zest to traditionally brewed beers. Or she may weave flowers into grapevines. She may start with just a twig.

"It's pretty dramatic, what can come out of nature," Cindie says.

When she began her career in Twin Cities flower shops, her craft was approaching an industrial routine.

"Flower arranging had almost resorted to a paint-by- numbers approach," says Cindie, a thoughtful, soft-spoken woman with a shy smile.

It was almost inevitable that she would eventually move away from the city in her search for more creativity.

"I'd always wanted to live in the country, ever since I was a kid," she says.