 While her art is inspired by American folk art forms such as "quilting, flag-making, bricolage, and primitive portraiture", she is not a folk artist.Kangas wrote that her early art has links to the work of unlettered artists but is "quirky enough (in technique and subject) to separate her out from true Outsider or folk art".Judy Wagonfeld of the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" said of her work, "Stitching scavenged fabric, wood and metal, she crafts offbeat flags and Americana rife with satire.