ANNE P SMITH
SCULPTOR
PORTLAND, OR
 www.burrowburrow.com

 Hi Ann, thanks for talking to us today.

Ann could you please share with us a little about where you grew up and
what inspired you to become an artist?

I wad born in Clearwater, Florida in 1980, and as long as I can remember, I have been interested in art. My mother is a ceramist and an art teacher, so I grew up with my hands in clay. I always thought that I was headed for the arts, aside from the fleeting moments that I wanted to be a marine biologist… or work for NASA (I still do!). I went to a High school with an arts program where I explored oil painting and sculpture. In 1999 I was accepted to the Rhode Island School of Design. My initial intent was to go into Industrial design, but halfway through my freshman year, I changed my major to illustration. I think I ended up in the perfect place; in an illustration class, during my junior year, I made my first robot. 

Having schooled at Rhode Island School of Design you must of been really
inspired by your peers. How did life change after you graduated and when
did you get your first break?

Being at RISD was amazing. There was so much freedom, and so many creative people around. The faculty really encouraged me to work in any medium in order to solve the assignments— I was so spoiled. When I graduated, I had no idea what I was doing. Many of my classmates moved away to Boston, New York, or L.A.— they all scattered!  I had a three month job lined up working at a summer camp, but after that, no plans. My major was illustration and I had an interest in going into that field, but I had no idea where to start. I knew I needed to get working on something— the robots had gotten a lot of positive feedback in school, so I decided to start there. I made a couple up and applied for some small works shows. The first two were at the Attleboro Museum (Massachusetts) and the risd/works gallery (Providence). The pieces did really well, and I just started submitting all over the place. I found a permanent gallery to carry some work out in Santa Fe, NM, and stuck to the fine arts for a while. The following year, I decided to concentrate on breaking into the world of illustration. I sent a bunch of promotional postcards to publishers; I was also accepted into the Communication Arts 2005 annual. Communication Arts was pretty much my first break in illustration. I got a couple projects, and have been going with that ever since.

Your sculptures of Robots have a lot to say on so many levels, recycling
and the green movement to name just one. What is it that you hope to get
out of the viewer with these brilliant pieces?

I love the idea of creating sculptures out of junk; making something new out of something that has been deemed useless. I also like to confuse the viewer by making sculptures that are life-like robots, but aren’t meant to do anything but sit there. I have a love/hate relationship with the question ‘but what does it do?’, which I get a lot. Mostly though, I like the viewer enjoy them in on a purely aesthetic level. 

Your Robots are beautifully intricate; it looks like you had a lot of
patience in their creation, any struggles along the way and how long do
they take to create?

Making the joints move like I want them to is always a challenge. Sometimes they are not strong enough to hold their own weight and they end up collapsing. I am always looking for the perfect material to put in between the joints to make them flexible, but strong enough to keep from falling over.  Some animals with long thin legs become very wobbly when I stand them up, and springs can help strengthen them. I’ll take a piece apart and put it back together several times before it feels right. It’s always satisfying when it finally works out; depending on the size and complexity, it can take anywhere between a few days to a month to make some of the larger animals.

Can we expect to see similar works down the road?

I think so. The more I make, the larger my pieces tend to get. Perhaps when I get a larger studio space, I’ll start to make some life size works (like a fish growing to the size of it’s bowl… ha ha). I also hope to incorporate other dimensions into the work- lights, sound, backgrounds… etc. 

That would be wik! Do you save anytime for personal work?

I am working on a couple of side projects right now. One is a book project- just a collection of my work that I hope to get published someday. I am also carving little butter knives in wax and having them cast in pewter. This is something I have never done before, but it is really fun! (sometimes I need a break from the robots). Every now and then I make a small run of t-shirts to sell at craft sales. One day I hope to get back into oil painting too. 

You have worked with some well respected clients, what is the key to
growing a good client base? Any other advice?

One thing usually leads to another. You just have to keep at it- keep applying to the annuals, and sending out postcards. Also, the website has been really, really helpful— possibly more than anything else— in getting stores and clients attention. It’s so easy to say, “Hey, check out my portfolio site!” Keeping it updated is the problem— that’s something I have to work on.

Your work has won you much respect and awards including. What is you
favorite piece and who do you look to for inspiration from within your
 industry?

It’s funny, my favorite piece, wasn’t my favorite from the start. It took forgetting about for a half a year, later pulling it out, and submitting it to American Illustration, to realize I actually liked it. It’s the raven I worked on for Cricket Magazine 2005, It seems simple and clean, but complete, compared to some of my other work. Knowing when to stop is a battle for me in most pieces. I like really intricate things, but they can get out of control. Finding that balance is something I really respect in illustrations— it’s hard to do! I have so many heroes in my field today— teachers, peers— I can’t think of where to begin. 

Time for the question we’ve all been waiting for; any tips for those
aspiring to be memorable sculptors?Don’t force yourself to do anything, Things have always seemed to fall into place eventually. If you’re not inspired, take a break from your work, but stay busy doing something else. There seems to be a great pressure on artists to constantly be producing and not falling behind. I find it important to switch gears every now and then. Now look deeply into your crystal ball, in 5 years where do you see yourself?Oh man, my crystal ball is a bit cloudy at the moment. I am getting ready to move to Portland OR, and I’ll most likely continue with the robots out there… but part of me wants to try out the full time design career at a company thing. I’m looking at some animation companies— who knows! Another part of me is thinking about grad school— SCAREY!Ouch, haha, thanks again Ann.

Posted: December 31st, 2007 under Anne P Smith.
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