Creatives having Coffee - E33 - Anna Chapman (0603)
Deeply, Madly in Love {0603}
Anna Chapman
Hello, my name is Anna Chapman. I am an artist, educator, and community arts facilitator, passionate about continuously exploring transformative approaches to art making, community practice, and connection to land in light of destabilized socio-ecological contexts.
Hi again Anna - I'm thrilled to have this time with you. Let's jump in~ ~~
Which mediums do you like working with the most? What are some of the more unusual ones you've used?
My art making process is anchored in painting and drawing. I source many of the materials I use from the surrounding environment, requiring participation with the land, animals, and people around me. For example, I make ink from black walnut husks, charcoal from trees and vines, or pigments made from nearby rocks. In the future, I would also like to connect with a local fiber shed to source fibers.
"I believe that what makes or breaks an artist, is a nearly irrational capacity to weather physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual upheavals that are an inherent part of one’s growth, and to still stick with their practice and find a way to be deeply, madly in love with it."
Where is your studio, and what is your primary work area?
For the last three years, my primary studio has been in Western MA, where I have been pursuing an MFA at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. My studio is located in an old building with tall beautiful windows located right across from the school’s permaculture garden. I have been grateful to be so close to a garden, and have been spending about a third of my work time outside drawing from the natural landscape, or collecting materials to create ink and charcoal from. I have also enjoyed collaborating with the permaculture department and my fellow cohort to bring art making experiences out into the world.
This May, I will be moving back to Cleveland, Ohio, where I have a wonderful studio above my parents barn. My parents are very poetic and fun people, and it is very generative to be able to live and work on their land. I am hoping to host community gatherings and workshops at their home in the years to come.
What advice do you have about throwing away work?
Can the work be composted to generate new works? I have always been very passionate about the concept of composting. And not just on a physical level, as in the way we compost food, but also on a spiritual, and emotional level. Rather than throw away my art, I often compost it into new works, when possible. For example, painting over old paintings, or in my recent piece “Knot Rite,” which consists of many old works on paper that I have done in years past. Additionally, to create this piece I have foraged from the scrap bins at nearby printmaking studios.
What would you tell other artists when they get frustrated with a project?
Studying the arts from a young age, I have seen a wide range of career paths in the arts through my peers. I have known many who started on the journey to become an artist, but I know few who have stuck with it. From my personal experience, and through the observation of others, I believe that what makes or breaks an artist, is a nearly irrational capacity to weather physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual upheavals that are an inherent part of one’s growth, and to still stick with their practice and find a way to be deeply, madly in love with it. Of my works, the ones that are most precious and alive to me, are often the ones that came with great struggle. Works that, at times, made me doubt not only the work itself, but my creative practice as a whole. Yet by sticking with it, and finding your way through the frustration, you are able to break new ground. However, there are also times when I feel frustrated with a work, and it is a work that I just needed to put down and let go. It can be hard to tell when to let something go, and when to stick with it. I think that an artist must cultivate an intimate relationship with their intuition, in order to know the difference. And sometimes, you only learn by trying and failing.
What are you working on currently?
(at the time of the interview) Currently, I am preparing for two upcoming shows. One is at the McDonough Museum, where I will be showing all of my largest, most ambitious works to date that i have generated over the last two and a half years. The show opens on January 21st, and I will be giving an artist talk on Wednesday, January 22nd. There will also be a closing reception on Friday, February 28th.
While preparing for this show, I am also teaching eco-art classes through the Morgan Paper Conservatory in Cleveland and online through ecoartspace. Additionally, I am dying a massive quantity of fibers for a community loom project that will be part of my thesis show at the A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton, MA this coming April.
How can people follow you and your work?
Folks can find me on instagram @ Owl_and_apple. I often post upcoming shows, or class I’m teaching there, as well as picture and reflections on my process. Additionally, my artwork can be seen through my website, https://AnnaChapmanArt.com
Thanks ever so much for spending this time with us Anna! Best of luck on the shows for sure. Full disclosure: Anna and I were in a group show at the Morgan Conservatory in 2024. We had a blast!
