First off, I just want to say that your art is stunning! When it comes to the subject matter of your pieces, do you often draw inspiration from your own environment or do you enjoy crafting your own worlds? 

Thank you! I think I draw inspiration from both—I grew up in New York City, and many of my collages are inspired by that city and others, but I also enjoying crafting a world of magical realism out of both urban and natural landscapes. 

Can you describe the process of how you create your collages? Additionally, how long does the process take?

First I need the idea for a collage. The idea can be based on something I see, or something I read or hear, for instance, an idiom. I recently did a collage titled “I’ve Taken Leave of My Sentences,” a riff on the idiom “I’ve Taken Leave of My Senses.” Sometimes ideas for collages appear like magic, and other times they don’t. Once I have an idea for a collage, I sort through my various art papers and photographs and various drawing supplies and paints and maybe jot down a pencil sketch of what I’m thinking. I almost always do the collages on black textured matboard, usually 24 inches wide by 18 inches high. I guess the whole process for one collage takes a month or two because I work in starts and stops, but it can take longer sometimes. I was working full time when I started doing collages, so I got into the habit of working in spurts.

You mentioned you're not only an artist, but a writer and a classical piano student as well. Is there a specific medium that you feel more connected to the most? How does each medium differ in the ways you want to express yourself?

It’s hard for me to pick one medium. Art and music were very important to me, even as a child. I also read constantly. Creative writing came later, because I majored in English and then worked as a writer, editor, and proofreader. At a certain point in my career I realized I wanted to write creatively. In music, I follow the rules. I practice an hour most days, and I never get tired of studying classical piano. In art, since I don’t have formal training, I get to wing it. Writing is somewhere between art and music. I guess emotionally I feel most connected to music and writing equally, but creating collages is generally the most fun. 

You also mentioned that you're primarily influenced by Henry Rousseau, who was able to reproduce the physical world photographically. What about the physical world resonates with you?

It’s not so much that the physical world resonates with me. It’s more the creative process—that an artist can look at the physical world and create a world of enchantment from it. I tend to take the physical world and portray it through the lens of magical realism. I like artwork that tells a story. 

How did you go about developing your art career? What motivated you?

Well, working at an advertising agency as a writer and editor and proofreader motivated me. My days were so stressful and so filled with words that I’d come home and look for a nonverbal activity that didn’t involve eating my way through gallons of ice cream. I had a piano by then, but I wasn’t taking lessons because I didn’t have the time to practice. I had seen a collage exhibit somewhere, and I thought it looked like a fun thing to try. So I started off making bookmarks and greeting cards. I’d send or give them to friends and coworkers, and they encouraged me to make bigger collages and sell them at craft fairs. I did that, and then I started entering and getting accepted at juried shows. At first, when someone asked, “Are you the artist?” I would look over my shoulder for the “real” artist before I said yes.

Lastly, what advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Don’t be discouraged!  Experiment with different media. Take some art classes. Send your work out to literary journals. There are many that charge only a small fee to enter or charge no fee at all. Enter art shows. Ask local restaurants if they would like to exhibit your work. It doesn’t matter if you are still young or already old. If you want to create art, there’s a medium (or media) for you. 

See Ann’s collage, “city sunset” in dulcet Literary magazine, vol. One, Issue No. 2, coming this february.