We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Wendy Ackrell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The older I get, the more I’ve found that the most consequential work I do is creating public art. I aspire to do projects that bring people joy, delight, solace, self-recognition.

Experiencing art that is made to be shared elevates my mood, makes me feel so connected, challenges my perceptions and perspective — I hope that my work can do that for others as well. I’m trying to reach out and speak directly through my art. It feels like the best kind of communion to be allowed the opportunity.

I just finished a 400-pound heart, Labyrinthine Heart, for SFGH Foundation’s Hearts in San Francisco 2023, their beloved annual event where heart sculptures are auctioned to benefit San Francisco General Hospital, and that was an indelible experience. I can’t wait to find out where mine ends up. I’ve lived in this wonky, magical place for almost thirty years and have daydreamed of being part of this epic fundraiser since first encountering these hearts all around the city. You can’t see one and not smile.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve worked as a painter for over two decades, primarily exploring abstraction but returning to figuration over the past few years. Originally a writer, I incorporate fiber art, poetry, and mixed media into my work.

Along with painting, my first love, I animate and transform natural materials such as river stones, trees, and fallen branches with paint, wool, and wire, leaving them to be discovered in situ. I’m of the firm belief that joy in the act of creation — and the wonder in alchemizing the quotidian into something precious and perceived anew — is a resounding yes to life. I am currently investigating kintsugi, the Japanese art of repair, both as artistic metaphor and a celebration of resilience.

I am profoundly proud of the public art projects I’ve worked on. One of my favorites was winning the SF Beautiful Muni Art 2020 contest, where Muni turns city buses into traveling galleries. I was asked to create five new artworks in conversation with poems by five renowned Bay Area poets. I had less than eight weeks to make these pieces in response to these dazzling poems, and I wanted more than anything to do them justice. I’m also grateful and thrilled to have been chosen to do a giant heart for Hearts in San Francisco. These sculptures are part of the fabric of the city and participating in such an iconic project is something that I’ll always treasure.

I’d love to continue on this path and see where it takes me. Anytime I can do work that everyone can see, especially art that is accessible and free to experience, I feel fulfilled.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I learn so much from watching how my young daughter and her friends discover the world, without hoary preconceptions or fixed beliefs. They have fewer set expectations and are so open to new experiences and ideas. I’m trying to develop more of a childlike mindset in certain ways, while being kind to myself when I catch myself mired in rigid, inflexible thoughts. I know that so many people have similar challenges with this and am much less hard on myself than I used to be. It’s an infinite struggle, but life wouldn’t be as rewarding without the process!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’ve touched on this before, but it’s so much a part of me that I’m glad to talk about it more. I really do believe that everyone and everything has a purpose in this life, and I think mine is using my intrinsic empathy to connect with others.

I’ve always been able to access people’s moods and emotions — to the point that I’ve found it to be a very intense, really mixed blessing — but I’ve been able to turn that into a positive with my art. I can channel that capacity into work that has meaning and tries to reach other people’s souls. As Ram Dass so famously said, “We’re just walking each other home.” I can think of nothing more beautiful or important than that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wendyackrell.com/
• Instagram: @wendyackrell
• Facebook: @wendyackrell

Image Credits
Wendy Ackrell for all the photos except the SFGH publicity shot for Labyrinthine Heart