Aug 17, 2020
Anna is a young and talented ceramics artist who just graduated from art school (DURING A PANDEMIC!). In this episode, we discuss Anna’s experiences with ADHD and the side effects of medication (the choice between one’s physical health and the ability to focus). We chat about managing social anxiety, what it feels like to work with clay, and many other fun things! Check it out!
Bio:
Anna Wagner was born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and has lived most
of her life in Wichita, Kansas. In
2014, she moved to Arkansas to receive her Associates of General
Studies at Arkansas State University - Beebe.
From 2015 - 2020, she attended UCA and graduated with a BFA in
emphasis in Ceramics. In undergrad, Anna
received Internship Scholarships for artist Jason Briggs (2020) and
the Clay Art Center (2019). Other scholarships
include a one-week class scholarship for Arrowmont School of Arts
and Crafts (2019), UCA Performance
Scholarship (2018-2019), Wingate Foundation Scholarship
(2018-2019), and Arkansas Academic Challenge
Scholarship (2015-2019). The artist was awarded The Student of the
Year (Spring 2020), Senior Show Exhibition
Honors (Fall 2019), and Honorable Mention for the Annual Student
Competitive (Spring 2019). She was
interviewed for UCA Artist Spotlight on ESPN (2019) and was
interviewed for the UCA Vortex Podcast (2019).
Throughout academia, Anna was an active member of four of UCA’s
fine art clubs: Vice President in Clay Club
(2018-2020); Sculpture Club (2017-2018); and BFA Critique Club
(2018-2019). She and her peers brought multiple
arts and professional development opportunities at UCA, such as:
reaching out to artists and bringing community
events like fundraisers, field trips, ceramic sales, pop-up shows,
and public outreach. Anna volunteered and demoed
for art events around Conway such as the Empathy Project (2019),
Eco Arts Fest (2018), and Female Foundry iron
pour (2018). She assisted and taught clay building and pottery
throwing for her internship at the Clay Art Center in
NY (2019), Downtown Conway (2019), Clay Club’s Potluck (2018), and
has taught a basic figurative drawing
session for her Study Abroad group in Spain (2018). She has also
assisted artists, such as interning Jason Briggs
(2020), Adam Chau at the Clay Art Center gallery (2019), visiting
artist Peter Pincus (2018), and visiting artist Ben
Butler (2017).
Artist Statement:
My body of work stems from the perspective of someone dealing with
ADHD and draws
attention to the effects of taking Adderall mentally, socially, and
physically. Since I began
discussing my experiences a few years ago, I have gathered
inspiration from those who have
dealt with similar disabilities and medication side effects. With
that I began illustrating these
narratives through portraiture and some text. The functional
ceramic shapes signify my
personal struggles with medications that restrained my appetite.
The looseness of the forms
juxtaposes against the detailed renderings of the portraits; a
constant battle between who I
truly am verses who I wish to be. The individuals in my work are
drained of color yet see and
experience world of gaiety and distractions.
Since childhood I have enjoyed the loud and vivid cartoons from
comic books and television
shows. These vibrant hues find their way to the vessel forms. The
translation results in bright,
colorful objects that seem to vibrate and hum with potential
energy. Aiding in this perceived
movement, I created forms from pieced together shapes sometimes
making no sense as
separate parts but finding their place as supports, feet, lids, or
additions. This
discombobulation can be said as well for anyone with invisible
mental disabilities, finding
their place and support in a community recognizing the struggles of
those dealing with it.
If the vessels are used in a utilitarian sense, the imagery or
discussion with these portraits
would be disrupted. Therefore, the function of these vessels is not
the primary reason they are
vessels, but rather used as an esthetic, similar to the repeated
“?!” speech bubble referencing
confusion. All to discuss the absence of a desire for food while
taking Adderall. Some of the
portraits chosen are of those who have dealt with learning
disabilities and felt ‘othered’ and
outcasted in some way. The work is physically structured and
presented as portraits of those
who need a voice, filling the empty forms with stories, each one
echoing my own.