Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Vollum.
Hi Ann, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a fiber and mixed media artist living and working in New Jersey. A lot has happened since I was last interviewed by Canvas Rebel in September 2022, 2023 and 2024 have been busy years with my work being widely exhibited. I am honored to now be represented by the amazing “Ivy Brown Gallery” in the Meatpacking District, NYC. My inaugural show with her was a group show, “Stay Curious” at The Watermark, Brooklyn, eight of my allegorical pieces were in the exhibit. Ivy introduces me on her website as follows:
Ann Vollum’s artistic practice is deeply rich and evocative, blending elements of personal history, cultural influences, and a commitment to sustainability. The use of repurposed materials not only adds layers of meaning to her work but also aligns with a growing awareness of environmental concerns in contemporary art. The meditative and slow nature of Vollum’s process likely imbues her pieces with a sense of depth and introspection, inviting viewers to slow down and engage with the intricate details and narratives woven into each stitch. The incorporation of ambiguous and dark narratives adds an element of mystery and invites viewers to explore their own emotions and interpretations. Vollum’s childhood experiences in Africa, as well as her travels in Pakistan and India, provide a rich tapestry of cultural influences that manifest in her iconography and use of pattern. This fusion of diverse cultural elements not only reflects her personal journey but also serves as a bridge for viewers to connect with different parts of the world and their own experiences. By aiming to capture the imagination of the viewers and inviting them to bring their own narratives to the work, Vollum creates a dynamic exchange between artist and audience. Each piece becomes a vessel for storytelling and reflection, fostering a deeper connection and dialogue between creator and observer. Overall, her artistic practice is a testament to the power of creativity to transcend boundaries and evoke emotion, inviting viewers on a journey of exploration and self-discovery.
Highlights for 2023 included having a stitched portrait selected for the NJ Arts Annual: Mother Nature vs Human Nature at the Noyes Garage of Stockton University. I was honored to be one of 33 New Jersey artists chosen for the 14C Art Fair held at Liberty State Park and as the people’s choice winner my pieces were later included in Showcase 14C at Aqua Art Miami. As a result of being an exhibitor in the 2022 14C Showcase I was excited to be given the opportunity of a Fall ESKFF artist residency at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City. The residency was a three month one, we were asked to complete 10 museum quality artworks in this time. I negotiated to create 5 stitched allegorical pieces and 5 wet felted sculptures. As a stitch artist working in great detail this ask was a huge one and turned out to be quite impossible! To get a jump on things I planned out my 5 stitched pieces in advance of the residency and started stitching outlines! I managed to finish one stitched piece and 3 sculptures in the allotted time. These demands although quite impossible for me to meet proved to be a great learning experience. With the spacious studio I was assigned, I was able to pin all my pieces on the walls and to work on several at a time, something I am not usually able to do in my home studio. As a result I saw my artwork develop and become more colorful and complex, I will always be very grateful for this opportunity!
2023 saw my hand stitched quilt “Bat” being juried into Fiber Arts Now, Excellence in Quilts III, it was also juried into a smaller exhibit at the Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, Texas. Rosebud, my third sculpture in a series of three was featured in the “Exposure” section of the Spring Surface Design Association magazine and was also featured in their on line exhibit curated by Hanna Washburn: A Line, a Link, a Web: Selections Online Exhibition Spring 2024. I’m excited to have four of my allegorical pieces included in the 2nd Seoul Han-River Biennale, South Korea this month. My thanks to Grace Yeonsook Ji, who saw my allegorical pieces in the 14C Showcase in 2023. Lastly, closer to home I am honored to have a couple of pieces at The Newark Museum of Art October through the end of the year in conjunction with the Newark Arts Festival.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think it is ever a smooth road being an artist, it does take dedication, perseverance and belief in oneself! It has taken many years of working through different mediums to find my artistic voice as a fiber / mixed media artist. Over the years I have constantly shown my work, always striving to show at more prestigious venues, in the last few years this has been paying off. I find it incredibly valuable and gratifying to put my work out there and to see how my audience interacts with it, it is this interaction that keeps me going as an artist and brings me joy! This year my main challenge has been dealing with the aftermath of a car accident which has prevented me from going on my usual trips to openings, open studios, museum and gallery shows not to mention the time I am able to spend creating new work and exhibiting it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I continue to be interested in natural and eco dying, I mainly dye with black walnuts, acorns, avocados and rust. Avocados give a beautiful soft pink color, black walnuts and acorns a darker brown, rust a beautiful reddish brown that reminds me of the red soil of Africa. I enjoy foraging for my dye ingredients, picking them up either on walks or from my yard. Rusty bits of metal often find their way back home with me, I have a jumbled collection in my studio! Once I have dyed a piece of fabric with natural dyes, I eco dye it mainly using maple leaves, onion skins and rusty metal. I’m not scientific in my methods and enjoy unwrapping my dye bundles to see what I have created. My aim is to get a piece of cloth with interesting color and texture rather than to accomplish the perfect leaf print. This cloth is either cut up to make “poufs” for my sculptures or used to stitch on. Since I was last interviewed by Canvas Rebel I have created two more sculpture series using the “poufs”. For one series of three I wanted to explore containment, I attached my hardware cloth covered in eco dyed fabric to vintage frames creating a flat surface to attach my sculpture to. These sculptures of which “Formations” is the largest are conceived and wired so that they can hang and be viewed in any orientation, I leave it up to the curator to decide. Following these pieces I went back to my vertical “mask” form and began embellishing my component “poufs” with vintage sequined fabrics that had spent time in the dye pot to age them. I had recently seen the Nick Cave exhibit at The Guggenheim, the Vanessa German at the Montclair Art Museum and the Machine Dazzle exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design “Maximalism” excited me! Hence this new series is bedazzled! “Bedazzled” being the most glitzy and “Rosebud” the most subtly embellished!
2023 saw me becoming interested in wet felting. I had previously made some small single vessels with mainly Corriedale wool, a courser wool than Merino. I signed up for an online course with Pam de Groot to further my techniques. So far I have created a couple of series of organic colorful sculptures that remind me of sea creatures. Each series uses four identical base pieces joined to each other in different configurations. Before joining and felting these pieces together they are embellished. The pieces are literally rolled and beaten into submission. I enjoy the transformation from an over sized lank object of little interest into a quirky colorful sculpture which can be displayed in many different configurations.
The third body of work that has been engaging me and that I am presently working on are my allegorical pieces. My first pieces of this genre date from 2019. They are mostly hand stitched on vintage linens which have been eco dyed. They are reminiscent of fairy tales, presenting an innocence and naivety on the surface and something much more sinister beneath. The main “character” or “person” usually a child, is always decided on first. Next my “Beasties” enter the scene, they all have sharp teeth and long tongues. Often there is a child, usually a naked girl in the belly of the “Beastie” or in the process of being eaten, or regurgitated. I aim to engage my viewers and to have them bring their own interpretations to the pieces. As a child I loved to read, later as an adult I amassed a large collection of children’s illustrated books, these have all influenced my vision for these pieces. A number of these pieces will be shown at the Han-River Biennale this August in Seoul, South Korea! I’m excited to have a new audience for these pieces.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have never really had a mentor, I find my inspiration in many places including the natural world. I constantly do research on Pinterest, keeping different boards to inspire me. Favorites are “Vintage Children” where I collect mostly images from the 1950’s and earlier which I use in my allegorical pieces. These early illustrations have a wonderful naivety and innocence. Other sources of fascination for me are Persian and Medieval manuscripts featuring demons, Hellmouths and Monsters! Edward Gorey, Henry Darger and Hieronymus Bosch continue to inspire me. On Instagram I follow a variety artists especially fiber artists, I also like to go to galleries and museums and I belong to a number of fiber arts and arts organizations. My advice is to exhibit your work as much as possible, be active on Instagram and go to as many art openings as you can, join art organizations and communicate with other artists whom you admire and believe in yourself!
Contact Info:
- Website: AnnVollum.com
- Instagram: @annvollum
- Other: https://ivybrowngallery.org/artist/ann-vollum/
Image Credits
Jim Horton – portrait Megan Maloy April Tracey – Bat Ann Vollum _ Dragon’s Breath, What a Boy Wants!, Formations Megan Maloy _ Bedazzled, Rosebud, Oh for Little Girls!, Girls Know Best!, From the Deep!