Fibre Arts Take Two

I recently had the honor and pleasure of spending an hour talking with Tara Axford of Fibre Arts Take Two out of Sydney, Australia about my art practice. If you are not familiar with them, you should be. On Instragram they can be found @fibreartstaketwo and their website is: https://www.fibreartstaketwo.com/

When I think of the many organizations that promote the arts that I know of, rarely do they meet the outreach that FATT does. This is a true dedication to connect artists with the public at large in everything related to the art of fibre not to mention the education opportunities that are also available through FATT.

As the Friday, Oct. 4th feature artist, the live broadcast on Facebook will start at 3pm tomorrow afternoon EST (Sydney is 14 hours ahead of us currently) on Thursday Oct. 3rd — the link to this event is: https://www.facebook.com/events/901785465141060?ref=newsfeed — join us if you can!

If you miss the broadcast you can see the video on YouTube @: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQG3_WxJX_M

Many, many thanks to all of you at FATT who have made this opportunity possible.

Color Paper Scissors

COLLAGE. This time honored medium is having a global moment as artists all over the world are incorporating paper into their daily studio work. For my part, I’ve been working in this genre for about five years now and really can’t imagine letting the collage aspect of my work go anytime soon. Indeed, the interest in my collage workshops remains strong as this medium is very forgiving and doesn’t require drawing skills. I’ve even completely rearranged my studio to accommodate the organization of my collage material—this is essential to keeping my sanity as an artist.

Urban Botanical #372

87 x 12.5 inches — various collage papers, acrylic house paint and Irish linen waxed thread on hand stitched canvas. Industrial thread spool armature.

I’ve also begun to work more with hand stitched canvas this year and I’m looking at a more textile approach in my art practice. This is a natural exploration for me as I combine book arts sensibilities with my collage work. I’m still pursuing work on panel, both aluminum and wood, as well as using a lot of vintage book covers as my substrate. There is continuity as well as exploration as I navigate change and solidify my every day practice in the studio.

Urban Collage #373 displayed in the AVA Juried Members show 2024

78.5 x 68.5 inches — various collage papers, acrylic house paint and Irish linen waxed thread on hand stitched canvas. Wood, leather and hex bolt armature.

Urban Collage #330 hanging in TETHER (on the right)—the September show in the main gallery of The Loft in Marietta, Georgia on the square (photo courtesy of The Loft Marietta).

Also, a new era has begun as this year has seen some changes in representation for me—Citron Gallery in Asheville has closed its doors, this summer heralded the end of the relationship with my Nashville gallery, and exciting new representation began with The Loft Marietta. Change is always imminent, especially within the art world, and its best to roll with the punches and embrace new challenges.

CONVERGENCE — New Work by Anna Carll

convergence noun

1 : the act of converging and especially moving toward union or uniformity

example: the convergence of the three rivers

synonyms: concurrence, connection, merging, concourse, crossroads

Urban Harbor #313

36 x 80 inches — MM on hollow-core door

SOLD—Private Collection

The Urban Series

“When I first conceived the Urban Series, I was thinking of the cycle of life in relation to my Mother’s diagnosis of dementia—the painful erosion of her mind and personality. When I pursued this line of inquiry, I saw a distinct correlation between what was happening to my Mother and how nature erodes our cities, towns or villages with acts of natural disaster. Through this lens I began to see that there could be many different but convergent collections within this series—each with their own characteristics and related in form and structure.”

Within the Urban Series all the colors, shapes, textures, lines and compositions converge to convey the same concept; the exploration of city life in conflict with nature. Carll designs and creates the majority of her collage material in Photoshop and then prints the images on acid free sketch paper. “I have a lot more control over the imagery and am able to create files that explore different images of our local infrastructure through a process of layering my photos with grunge textures that cause fracturing of the forms within—much like what nature does to our communities.” This process is unique to Carll’s background in graphic design and illustration—a way to merge all of her skills from her early career with her current multi-disciplined art practice.

Viewers of this work will discover all kinds of patterns made from utility wires, city grids, wallpaper patterns, monoprint designs, architectural elements and plant life. All of this imagery is merged with fine art & handmade papers layered in the form of collage as a dense construction of form and palette choices. Carll refers to this process as “painting with paper.” Anna Carll combines painting, collage and mixed media within a multi-disciplined art practice using her own vocabulary to create powerful visuals that embody her unique vision of the world.

Karen Hewitt Hagan and her team @ Hagan Fine Art present: CONVERGENCE — New Work by Anna Carll — on view through September 2023.

Event page @ Hagan Fine Art

Opening reception: Friday September 1st — 5-8pm (This will coincide with the CGA Artwalk in downtown Charleston, SC.).

Art talk with the artist: 7-8pm.

125 Church Street

Charleston, SC 29401

+1-843-901-8124