Anna Mein
“Nested”
Found objects, clay and wood
2024
3" x 3" x 3" (each)
$250 each / $5000 collection
“Wood and Waste”
Found wood, straws, plastics
2024
24" x 24" x 1"
$750
“Glow Sticks”
Driftwood, straws, found plastics
2024
24" x 24" x 4"
$750
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am currently exploring the premise, the medium is the message. Addressing the discord of art conceptually devoted to a harmonic relationship with nature and environment but materially realized in a context indistinguishable from the agents of disruption, I seek alternative materiality to synthesize conceptual and technical execution. Through this pursuit, I intend to move beyond pure self-expression to address the inherent implications of making and larger societal context of creative work. Committed to a rigorous methodology and a deep ecological stewardship of the land, I presently use only found material. My multimedia body of work is conceived in handmade plant inks, locally gathered earth pigment, foraged clay, and found wood and plastics. Coming upon material rather than pursuing it, helps me shift the mundane into sacred when I tend and house ephemera. I nest found objects in hand carved driftwood and local lakeside clay to create intimate, free standing, organic sculptures. I find serendipity in congruent connections of manmade and natural substrates, creating wall structures connected through discarded drinking straws. Pairing this three dimensional work in dialogue with my ink drawings creates vectors for me to work through the conceptual premise.