We recently connected with Annie Seaton and have shared our conversation below.

Annie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

In my Junior year of College I went to Paris to study fashion illustration and costume history with the Parsons School in Paris program. However I longed to be with the fine art students who were doing creative art assignments all over Paris, rather than following all the design rules in my illustration studio classes. Although I loved my summer program, I returned for my senior year at College and doubled down in painting and sculpture classes. I learned that art, not fashion was where my true passion lies.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have made art and painted pretty much since I graduated from College. Even when I supported myself as a retail marketing executive, I always painted in night classes or in weekend model workshops. After I had my two children I began painting them, my daughter Violet in particular, was my favorite muse and model. I started painting commissions for friends and family and earned money for my artwork. All along I was also nurturing a passion for fine art photography which I started modestly collecting in my mid 20’s. My painting practice expanded to me capturing more and better photographs of my subjects, and developed my photography skills to a level where I started to think about how to combine my love for the medium of photography without giving up my passion for painting and making unique artworks. I evolved into developing my own language of mixed media artworks combining painting and photographs.. I have pursued this direction for almost 20 years now and really love to exploring how to push photography beyond just 2D printed images. I began shibori dyeing my photos which I print on rice papers with indigo and sewing them together into indigo story quilts. I am always trying to push the medium of photography by doing anything to a photo that is usually considered taboo– folding it up, dunking in. vat of dye- piercing with needle and thread. My second objective is sharing that joy I get when making with others. More recently I have been thinking a lot about quilting, and women’s work as a historical means of story telling. I am now creating ever more intensive photo story quilts. It is really satisfying work and I just cannot see myself stop exploring and creating in this direction.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve been thinking a lot about “women’s work” and quilting and processes and have a lot of respect for the women artists who came immediately before me, the Faith Ringold’s and Miriam Shapiro’s and the Ethel Schwabacher’s and the respect for tradition and story telling and I also was thinking about my daughter Violet and sometimes my mother and the links that hold us and my sister together. Us women, my sister and I carry a lot of pain and anger from growing up – from bad men and we sort of are always dealing with that and at the same time forget it, ignore it, put it on life’s back burner, but it’s always there on that back burner simmering, smoldering. I wonder if this is the same with other women artists or other creatives who similarly obsess over what they do like me? Whether it’s cooking, painting or photography, or music, we women, we work to communicate something emotional whether its joy or something sad, but it’s also a tool for healing. We preserve old processes, we cook and measure, take photos, I sew and embroider, I dye and tell stories. I am carrying on tradition like a silent passing of the torch of women, of generations of healing and telling our stories and making our mark in this world. My work I think or hope will also heal others by bringing joy, by reminding others I’m the keeper of traditions and that making work is soulful and joyful. I chose to make joy and leave anguish and pain at the door. This is my legacy to my family, for my kids. My life’s meaning, to tell the story of love and use it as a tool for healing us and healing strangers. Put joy out into the world through beautiful images, through imagery of light on water and shadows of leaves via my needle and thread. My pink sequins, dances and sparkles off the paper. It’s meant to lift up our collective souls. It conveys energy and love and happiness, it triumphs good over evil, light over darkness, joy over sadness.

My art is me winning in a world where I chose to conquer over losers, my revenge is embracing love and sharing happiness and just being happy. My ultimate revenge is healing myself and healing others through my artwork. My life has meaning, through friendships and love and family and continuing the traditions from one generation to the next but breaking the chain too, a disruptor by choosing to be happy, choosing love, choosing not to dwell or mire in the violence of our pasts. I join a cadre of women who are workers – like bees buzzing around going about our lives, keeping busy, making, continuing this trajectory of brave and bold women, Hero women, Shero Women, the kind that scare some, weak men, angry men, violent men, the kind that other women look up to, the non creatives – the non expressive, the ones that can’t make – I make art for them too, I share and sew and speak for them so they may take my strength, my joy, my happiness, my stories and make them theirs, like I take from the women artists directly preceding me.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Over my career there have been a couple books that helped me move from each stage of my young artist career and inspired me. The book, How to Get Hung by Molly Barnes was a bit hoakey but it is really about empowering yourself to get your work out of the studio and hung out in public. It was recommended to me by an early painting teacher and really helped my young self think of all the many ways to get my artwork out into the world, shown and eventually sold. The author is an experienced LA gallerist so she knows what she is saying.

I also was really impacted by Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deveare Smith. This book applies to anyone in a creative field. I think it was meant for young actors, which Deveare Smith is a well known expert, but it also speaks to visual artists directly and really makes one feel that you are not alone and not weird and that you are part of this very special community. I highly recommend it for loads of inspiration and support

Lastly every artist should be reading and following art critic Jerry Saltz on social media. On instagram he speaks daily directly at artists. He writes reviews and essays for New York Magazine.and also published two books; How to Be an Artist and this past year he published Art is Life: Icons Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes and Flashes of Hope in the Night. Jerry really says,”Get to work you big babies!” Jerry Saltz is every artists coach, parent, critic, teacher and best friend. He wants us all to succeed, as he often says whether our art is good or bad. I find him very inspirational and always feel like he’s talking directly to me when he says get to work!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.annieseatonart.com
• Instagram: Annie Seaton
• Facebook: Annie Seaton
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-seaton-97ba615/
• Other: https://www.minted.com/store/aseaton