Annie Arrasmith

 

Annie Arrasmith’s work reflects her mastery of her technique. Excellent color choices balance the randomness in a precise process and the product is stunning hand drawn prints. The quality of her works shows in her attention to detail and the variety of prints makes you want to see what is coming next.

 

Why are you an artist?

 

I am an artist because I am compelled to make objects that help us as human beings to wake up and stay awake. It is a sacred activity.

(Poem)

In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

                                                                                                                                                           

You dance inside my chest,

where no one sees you,

 

but sometimes I do, and

that sight becomes this art. 

 

Rumi (12th Century Sufi poet)

 

What artists have influenced you, and how?

 

I have been greatly influenced by the work of the architect, Christopher Alexander, particularly his books The Timeless Way of Building (1979) and A Foreshadowing of Art in the 21st Century: The color and geometry of very early Turkish carpets (1993).  In one of his most recent and brilliant works, The Nature of Order Book 4: The Luminous Ground (2004), he speaks of the interior or essential element in a work of art that makes one feel related to it - the spirit or life in the work that animates it and makes it a living center. My goal is to make work that breathes and vibrates, work that’s alive.

 

Can you tell us about your work?

 

At present I work in a printmaking process called clay monotype. It is a magnificent medium, full of surprises and very flexible. It is totally process based which helps to keep my ego and will in their proper place. Creating a clay monotype is physically demanding which also helps me to stay out of the way. The process begins by building a stoneware clay plate that is housed in a simple wooden frame and allowed to dry to leather-hard. Paint is made using kaolin (white china clay), water, and permanent artist's pigments. Using a variety of tools and techniques, the paint is applied to the surface of the stoneware clay plate. The resulting image is then lifted onto an archival spun fiber matrix using small hand rollers and pressure tools. I then laminate the finished print onto a specially built wooden panel and box. Several layers of polymer matte varnish are applied to the surface to protect the work from dust and UV rays. Because kaolin is inert and the artist’s pigments are permanent, the finished piece is incredibly stable.

 

 

Do you usually work in series?

 

I usually work in a series because it takes me a while to understand what I am doing and why. I need to explore an idea over and over in order to really “see” what I am doing or trying to do. I’ve learned over the years that what I think I’m doing and what I’m actually doing can be, and often are, two different things.

 

As you look ahead, can you see what direction your work is going?

 

I will continue to explore the sacred. I could see myself moving more toward synthesizing spiritual iconography (not necessarily religious iconography) and ancient textiles like Turkish carpets, batiks from Java and Sumatra. I would love to invent something new to look at.

 

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?

 

Things don’t get tough in the studio. Sometimes things get tough in my life, financial worries, etc. But when I’m in the studio, I am ecstatic.  I love the successes and the failures. I drink water from a deep, deep well and it goes on forever.

 

At a practical level, my life in the studio is driven by process questions especially the question – “What if?” What if I do this and then that? I am constantly experimenting and pushing the medium and myself.

 

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

 

For me, that’s the hardest part of being an artist.  I went through the Taking the Leap program last winter and learned a lot about how to have a functioning marketing department in my studio. But I would rather be making art than trying to sell it.

 

What do you do for fun besides painting?

 

I love to read. One of my favorite writers is Barbara Kingsolver. I especially enjoyed her novel Prodigal Summer. And I’m learning to swing dance.