Artist extraordinaire Andrea Anderson spills about photography, Ingmar Bergman and being a little different.
What was your childhood like?
I'm the oldest of four, so I earned the moniker "mini mom" pretty early on. A lot of people don't know that I was home-schooled for 10 years, so my childhood was pretty different from the norm - it was the 90s, so a lot of people thought I was either a freak or a genius. There was a stigma to being home-schooled back then, and it was tough to deal with. But, now that I'm grown up, I appreciate being a little bit different. It definitely had something to do with where I am now - I got to draw all day long! My parents were big on the arts, so I took every art class out there, along with piano, flute, voice, and guitar lessons. All of my siblings are very artistic, and very different from each other. We had some rough times, but we had a lot of fun together. I know I had a great education - I came to college without a high school diploma, yet somehow graduated last June with honors.
When did you first know you wanted to be an artist?
My clearest recollection is second grade, when I was still in public school. I was drawing a picture for our school Christmas card and a classmate said to me, "Yer gonna be an artist!" That sounded pretty good to me.
Andrea's handmade earrings, from her
shop, Ear m'Dear.
Can you remember the first piece of art you made?
I used to copy the Cinderella figures from my 1950's Disney book when I was really young. I was obsessed with representing each singular piece of glitter. Before that though, my grandma likes to tell me how I used to fill an entire piece of paper with teeny, tiny squiggles before I was even two years old.
What do you love most about creating?
In a nutshell, I guess it's the "incarnational" aspect - that you can transform an idea into something physical. I can take a blank piece of paper, add ink, and suddenly it has a particular significance that other people can see and touch. It's really profound and beautiful.
Did you play make-believe when you were little?
Yes, but I preferred designing. I sewed clothing and built furnishings for my Barbie dolls more than I actually "played" with them. I also loved pretending to have a restaurant (so that I could design paper menus), a doctor's office (I would fill class bottles with colored water to make "medicine"), and a stationery shop. That was my favorite. My neighbor and I spent hours folding envelopes and making coordinated designs.
What are you doing when you’re not creating?
Hopefully I'm eating good food, drinking good wine and coffee, and hanging out with my husband. I live for road trips, especially around Washington - the landscape is so pastoral, even when it's pouring rain outside the car.
Favorite films?
Ingmar Bergman's beautiful black and white films are masterpieces that always affect me. My favorites are Winter Light (1962) and Through a Glass Darkly (1961). They both ask serious questions about life and God and are very depressing, actually - but they're really profound and have a depth that you don't usually see in movies.
Favorite writers?
Rainier Maria Rilke has been an inspiration to me since I read Letters to a Young Poet. Rilke showed me that originality in art begins humbly, and begins with honesty. You have to tell your own story, not someone else's - no matter how insignificant your experiences seem.
Is there any media/genre of art that you are interested in delving into?
Lately I'm interested in getting into illustration, simple drawings with pen or sumi ink. I like simple lines and I like to draw so I'm trying to get back to the basics. I'm also doing a lot of photography, as a business. I'm looking to shoot weddings, portraits, products, anything.
What is your dream job?
That's a tough question. I think I'd illustrate children's books. My brother would write them - he's a fantastic storyteller!
Thank you, Andrea!
Visit her blog, The Dangling Conversation
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