Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anna Marie Witthohn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Anna Marie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I was a little girl, my mom was a single mom and a full-time paramedic so I spent a lot of time at my grandparents. That’s where I learned to build and put things together. My grandfather taught me how to use power tools and saws. We would spend hours in the garage building furniture or fixing things, I got my love of carpentry from him. My grandmother taught me how to pair colors together and what looks aesthetically pleasing. We loved to go shopping for home decor and I’d help her paint the house, I got my creative lens from her. I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for them.
Throughout my life, I have consistently created art. I’ve never worried too much about it being good or the learning process. Most of the things I make are for myself and if someone wants to buy it, that’s cool too. That’s why I love building furniture; it is so practical.
The most essential skill I have is painting. Paint a house, paint a picture, paint a mural. I’ve been really into street art this past year. I’ll go to legal graffiti parks and paint the city. I’ve done pieces in NYC and Knoxville. I frequent my hometown’s graffiti park as well to paint murals. I like having a huge canvas or space to paint it makes me feel so powerful. That’s why I also don’t mind house painting.
The one thing that has consistently stood in the way of my process is gender norms. I love carpentry and I have some fantastic work I’ve done, it’s the skill I’m most proud of. I’ve been hired for projects and wowed my clients, but I’ve also been told I shouldn’t do that type of work as a woman. There have been times I’ve felt ashamed of my work, not because of the quality, but because of the looks and comments I’ve gotten. I’m so grateful to have had my family’s support and guidance, but I sometimes wish they’d told me that, the things I was good at were not normal for a woman and not everyone would like that I was doing these things. It was a bit of a shock for me when I entered the adult world, but I’m also glad they didn’t say anything because I don’t know that I would have worked so hard had I known.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m 25 years old and I live in the city of Pittsburgh with my Siberian Husky, Butch. I’ve been making art since I was a little girl. Painting is the first thing I ever fell in love with in this life but, my favorite medium is carpentry. My late grandfather was a carpenter and gave me a unique perspective on how to put things together, and my grandmother gave me a strong foundation in color theory from a young age. Some of my best work includes little free libraries, cat furniture, and wooden kid’s toys. I spent the last year traveling for work and while I didn’t have as much access to my tools the walls of graffiti parks became my canvas. I started to paint the city I was in on the city I was in. I love murals because painting the walls feels so natural, it makes me feel like I’m a cave person carving hieroglyphics into the wall. My pieces take anywhere from 8-12 hours depending on how much daylight I can catch. I paint these pieces usually with the understanding they’ll be covered with other public art but, I’m okay with that because it’s better to have created and lost than to never have created at all.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is simple for me honestly. It’s looking at my finished project and seeing my vision come to life. Some of the work I do takes hours and I like to keep track. Knowing I spent 80+ hours on a piece makes it feel important and real to me.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I feel like my creative drive ebbs and flows, and sometimes non-creatives don’t understand that even if I haven’t created art in a month or so it’s still important to me and a big part of my identity. As a first responder sometimes I get caught up in the job and can’t make anything. When I get those tough calls my most important coping tool is creativity, without art as my outlet I don’t know if I could handle it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annamariewitthohn/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@annamariewitthohn