We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anna Podris. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anna below.
Anna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I was in an art class in high school- really just by accident. At that point I had no big goal or life path. I was in the class with my good friend and we were always goofing off and never serious. We would throw little balls of paper at eachother and stuff like that. Once my teacher got really fed up with me and called me into her office. I was scared because I had been laughing and not paying attention- I figured I was in for a lecture or detention. Instead she told me that I showed talent in drawing and painting and she thought I could make a career of it. I was so shocked because I hadn’t really paid much attention to what I was making in there- and I had certainly never considered an art career as an option. But the idea sounded really good to me.
Anna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I became a painter because I fell in love with the work of Marc Chagall and I became an oil painter because I fell in love with the medium. I was lucky to get to see a Chagall painting in person. I was at a pivotal point in my life- a wayward youth looking for a mode of expression. His paintings spoke to me on a base level because they have metaphor and layered, hidden meanings. I began to see how, through working with imagery, I could express so many stories and emotions in poetic ways. When I took up oils I fell in love with the color and lush quality of the paint. Because they stay wet for such a long time, I can really take my time to mix my colors. Color harmonies are how I set the mood of my paintings.
I see a painting as a portal into an alternate universe. I start with one idea- like- what if there were a tiny library in the hollow of a tree in the forest? Then mix a palette an I start the painting pretty spontaneously. When I get the basic structure painted I start to put in details as they come to me- like -a snail crawling among the leaves on the forest floor, a person reading in the background, burrows for underground animals, underground networks of roots and mycelium, a newt, a moth, a bird. I paint the things I love. People have asked me how I get my ideas- I really think it’s by staying open. They just seem to land.
In my paintings, things can get magical or surreal because I let my mind wander and ask questions of my work. I get a chance to be free and make things appear and happen how I want . Sometimes I need to paint something that couldn’t happen in reality in order to express something I can’t find words for. Clients have said they see my work as a sanctuary of sorts. I hope to spark peoples imaginations., and speak to them on that base level.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Creatives need a little space and a little money. Basically we need gallery , housing and studio space with low rent. And we need people to buy our art. We need collectors to seek out our newest works, peruse our websites, share our work, talk us up to friends, appreciate what we do. Society as a whole could better support creatives by acknowledging that we exist- and normalizing what we do as artists. I actually hesitate to tell people what I do in casual conversation because the response immediately turns to questions about money. Yes we need money to survive like everyone else does but there is so much more to life.! I wish society at large would normalize the fact that creatives provide tangible products that are part of our capitalist system, but also we provide so much more: galleries that anyone is free to come in and look- it’s free to look! We are often on hand to have conversations and answer questions. A lot of us have decorated our yards and homes in an idiosyncratic manner- breathing life into the city or suburb streets. A lot of us also teach, spreading the creative love to others. We are often the ones that are first to try new things and test the way for others to follow.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Being on the path that I am supposed to be on- and making paintings come into existence. Spending hours in the studio inside the bubble of my inner world. Also I’m lucky to get to do huge murals with kids through the artists in the schools program. I love bringing creative imagination to kids in the school setting. Helping them dig in and really do their best work- and work together- to create a large piece.- is super rewarding.
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Anna podris