We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anna Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anna below.

Anna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I received the Daniels Fund Scholarship after graduating High School, and attended Colorado State University. This was a full ride scholarship, and I decided to risk it on the Fine Arts, specifically Printmaking. My whole life I was told that I needed a nine to five job, I could never succeed as an artist but it wasn’t about being successful and making money. I’ve never been money motivated, and I wanted a chance to do what I wanted and fought for a chance to dream openly. So I pursued my dream because it felt like a win to explore education and the arts my way, the opposite of a public school experience. Several times I almost lost my scholarship, schools have been very difficult for me to attend with any kind of anticipation but even though I struggled, I overcame the pressure. I was very poor during my educational period, ending with a Masters in Liberal Art. However, it became overly apparent that I’d done the right thing, for me, and how I defined success.

Anna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve come from a formal education setting, luckily, I was able to attend a University and become aware of what is thought to be art and how artists lived. It’s wasn’t very eye opening, considering the nature of making and or crafting. Respectfully, it wasn’t something I’ve held in high regards towards how I make art but it did have an impression. It was difficult being told what people classified as Art, why it’s the way it is, and what to expect but it felt like a trap. It would be in poor taste to relate education to systems of Justice like prisons but when you’re young, education can be limiting, it’s only afterwards do you feel successful. For me it was a very brief feeling because I realized that though I learned all these great works of art, and how to make work myself, I really learned how to copy works of art, become overly critical, and knew a lot about materials. Maybe it was the style of education, Colorado State University is a great school, but maybe it wasn’t the best school for me. So, eventually I had to unlearn what I spent thousands of dollars to be educated on because artist utilize their own voices through materials and become great. Nobody great ever copied works, sure momentarily but it’s not success. So, I had to free myself of my education, and look at art differently, which is where I started working in Museums, Galleries, and Art Centers. Being overly educated in the arts gave me a huge base to draw from, and it helped me see modern and contemporary art, this set me free from my educational cell. This is where I found the magic of installing art, to date I’ve done 58 shows, and this has helped me more than my education ever has except for getting my foot in the door. Installing Art allowed me to see that you can create anyway you’d like, and be authentic if you create the way you want to. No limitations. So, I found my way and that was using my education as a context Bank, and freeing myself to work from what I imagined. Now, I create and submit to shows because installing other peoples shows gave me confidence and it felt good to know where I stand and what it’s like to show work.

This is two fold, I create and make art as an artist, and I install work for artists. I want to tap into both. Making Art, for me is a feeling, emotional release through process and as a Mixed Medium artist, what I can get away with. Traditionally I’ve been trained in Printmaking, so I utilize print thinking in my work. How art builds to its finished form, and this is where the emotional release comes from. I do not commission Art, or make anything I don’t admire. I work with color’s that speak to where I am in life, how I’m feeling, and what I’ve learned about color theory. It’s a process, but it’s an emotional one, when I feel, I make the best work. It’s difficult to tap into how I’m feeling sometimes but when I’m angry I let it fuel me and spill into my work. I create for stability of mind and body, it cleans my mind and gives me a successful feeling. Every piece is an accomplishment to myself. The art is mostly made from straight materials or mixing materials that work. For example, I work a lot with peeled paint, paint poured into acrylic sheets and peeled off later, die cut and formed into images. I let the material use itself, and then I add to the materials by mixing things like charcoal and pastels on paint. Sometimes my works have thirteen plus art materials to produce and that’s from stepping back from my educated self and finding out what I wanted to do yo make works that can’t be reproduced. One of a kind and that’s authentically me. Now, the idea came from installing contemporary works, and getting to work with modern day artists that are or are not successful. Talking to people who make work is more useful than knowing the history of art from a perspective of an artist. I’d never have made good art without being exposed to art, hand in hand.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’d just finished my MA at Colorado State University. I’d gotten to do two internships with Global Village Museum in Fort Collins and the Museum of Art Fort Collins. However, I’d lost my main job and my housing. So, for awhile I lived out of my car and couch surfer for a year. Probably the most trying time of my life but it felt amazing to follow my goals and make my way. These two internships out of the six or seven, sometimes I forget, it was the bases for my art career and installation career. It really felt like I was making it and loosing it simultaneously. I was totally on the edge, living vicariously through others and doing something I felt had merit. A total rush, but it’s left an impression on my inner self. I know what it’s like to be at my lowest for the right reasons. Seven years later, I can’t think for a mom t that that didn’t push me in the right direction. It gave me everything I have now, when I lost everything I had then. Perspective.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew, that as an artist, I could have been expensing my materials via taxes the entire time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://annaleeartist.wixsite.com/intrinsictastes
• Instagram: Intrinsic_tastes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-o-lee