ànna ánna ânna ãnna änna ånna

Love, Love

2012-01-18T10:56:00.001-08:00

--photo by Anna Wetzel

A month back, I realized I wanted a giant black-on-cream heart hanging on the wall.

So I made one. The idea originated from this MoMA poster, but also from the cheeky hearts I see in fashion (classic COMME des GARÇONS heart, this J.Crew sweater). I do love the concept of dressing myself in a big old banner of love, but for now I've chosen to channel that through my decor.

Today I saw this pretty room on the beautiful blog for More & Co. -- same idea!

--photo by Maria Alexandra Vettese

New York Times Visual DNA

2011-11-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

Even though this is a marketing strategy, I was very curious to see how this New York Times Visual DNA quiz would classify me. I was amazed at how accurate the written description was, as well as the visual results -- it's me!

You're Culture Curious:

You are culturally adventurous in all walks of life and love to explore different avenues of tastes and trends. Because your body is also important to you, you look for flavors that are unusual but still healthy and delicious, and you are constantly on the lookout for the next food trend. You are a true optimist at heart. You like to see the world through rose-tinted spectacles. It's all about believing that dreams can come true.

You're sophisticated and inquisitive with a real passion for art and culture. You pride yourself on being an early adopter of the latest music and films and always like to have a good book on the go. Your ability to bring together very diverse and even dissenting opinions is rooted in your appreciation for all points of view. You believe in immersing yourself in interesting experiences that make you look at people, places and opportunities from new angles. Being sensitive and creative you want to feel connected to the world around you and actively seek out opportunities to explore it. It's all about broadening your horizons and living life to the full. Anything else would not fulfill your curious nature. You'll love the list of The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, the Critics' Picks and Arts Beat.

silent credits

2011-10-30T15:28:00.001-07:00

Playing around with typography...

promises

2011-10-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Tulip studies, 2011

run with the horses

2011-10-30T13:10:00.002-07:00

Run with the horses, 2011

little guys

2011-10-30T12:32:00.001-07:00

2010

"A True Life Adventure in Adventureland"

2011-05-10T11:21:00.003-07:00

Stills from 1964 Jungle Cruise presented by Walt E. Disney

Travelin' Light

2010-12-06T22:56:00.001-08:00

TRAVELIN' LIGHT
New work by Anna Wetzel
at Dolce Vita Seattle
Opening Dec. 11 6-9PM

Someone Else's Art: Mara Skujeniece

2010-11-24T16:35:00.003-08:00

website

20Twenty Trunk Show

2010-11-18T23:08:00.004-08:00

Coming up at good ol' 20Twenty!
I am contributing some ink drawings to a sale featuring the hot talents of Worn Path, Jesse Brown, and Stacey Rozich.

Back at it

2010-11-03T20:40:00.010-07:00

A few months of silence... different jobs, different work, moving, moving again, moving once more, life changes, settling back in, finding work space, finding my footing, and feelin' groovy anew. Stay tuned + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Porcelain is so much prettier.

2010-07-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Wandering in the desert

2010-07-02T10:11:00.001-07:00

Oh man

2010-05-07T23:10:00.014-07:00

Following the opening of my show Buena Vista on Thursday, I had the huge (surprise)
honor of being nominated for and then winning the new 'Best of Art Walk' award —
a massive chunk of critical and monetary validation!

Big big thanks to Daniel Carrillo at Some Space Gallery; to Cable Griffith for nominating me;
to Joey Veltkamp and City Arts for organizing the award & after party; and to my darling
friends who came along for the ride! So unexpected and so immensely encouraging.

My discarded pile of artist's tape

2010-04-27T21:28:00.004-07:00

...made a little sculpture that is more appealing to me than all the paintings I've been working on. Hmm.

Currently

2010-04-25T08:37:00.006-07:00

...painting desert landscapes on draped cotton canvas.

2010-04-11T12:05:00.005-07:00

"I don’t know what I want; I am inconsistent, non-committal, passive;
I like the indefinite, the boundless; I like continual uncertainty." --Gerhard Richter

via /44

Some drawing progress this weekend

2010-04-10T15:12:00.004-07:00

holla

Stills from Disney's 'The Living Desert' (1953)

2010-03-21T22:51:00.001-07:00

Not to be missed

2010-02-21T20:45:00.004-08:00

Wish I could be in San Fran this week to see the retrospective!
Also kind of wish my Cerros Huecos sculpture was still alive...
Site-specific + beeswax = temporary

Someone Else's Art: Falke Pisano

2010-02-21T20:20:00.004-08:00

Installation by Falke Pisano at MD 72, Berlin, from Contemporary Art Daily

Detail

My first association with Pisano's colors, materials, tethering + suspension was with the sleeping deck of a boat I rode up the Amazon River in 2006. Here is a photo -- unfortunately it doesn't capture but a tiny cross-section of the massive (200?), multi-level web we tangled ourselves up in for 4 warm nights.

The Portuguese word for hammock is rede (HEH-jee), which translates literally to 'network' in English.

A rede of redes...

New! New! Things on the horizon

2010-02-01T21:05:00.002-08:00

Succulents In Captivity: Volunteer Park Conservatory

2010-02-01T20:58:00.003-08:00

Someone Else's Art: Lorna Simpson

2010-01-25T11:35:00.003-08:00

Parts, 1998, Serigraph on 12 felt panels with 1 text panel, 259 x 254 cm

Wigs II, 1996-2006, Waterless lithographs on felt

The Park, 1995, Serigraph on 6 felt panels with 2 text panels 67 x 67 1/2 inches overall

The Staircase, 1998, Serigraph on 6 felt panels with 1 felt text panel, 66 x 66 inches overall

Lorna Simpson Studio via The Best Time of Day

Someone Else's Art: Some Space Gallery archives

2010-01-24T21:16:00.011-08:00

Rebecca Ford / November 2006

Katherine Cummings / August 2007

Julia Gfor / May 2007

Yoshi Nakagawa / Nov 2008

D.W. Burnham / Nov 2008

I just spent some time perusing the exhibition archives for Some Space in Seattle, and decided to make a list of artists' images I found the most drawn to. I'm preparing for a spring show there, and it's interesting to figure out how/if my own sensibility jives with past and future exhibits.

Preview of my lil zine for series SUCCULENTS IN CAPTIVITY

2010-01-13T14:19:00.002-08:00

Collage is the answer

2010-01-13T11:45:00.008-08:00

My unsatisfactory drawings are clipped, sliced, reconfigured...

Someone Else's Art: Nicholas Nyland

2010-01-07T22:29:00.003-08:00

Saw this soft painting tonight at the SOIL Gallery opening.

artist website

Winter mobiles

2009-12-20T10:40:00.004-08:00

Spontaneous crafting with my buddy Julia, who is eight years old.

Saturday morning

2009-12-19T12:27:00.001-08:00

Someone Else's Art: Elina Minn

2009-12-19T11:07:00.007-08:00

I'm a little obsessed with the images of artist/designer/animator Elina Minn's work (final, but especially the process shots).

Oax-i-fornia at Tienda Q

2009-12-18T11:56:00.004-08:00

Being at the Ex-Hacienda de Guadalupe for this project in 2008 was perhaps the finest month of my life to date... Felicidades to Raul and everyone involved!!!

To celebrate the course's fifth anniversary, a "best-of" show will take place this December at the most prominent high-end retail space in Oaxaca City, Tienda Q. It will be curated by Danish artist Trine Ellitsgaard.
More info

Equilibrium?

2009-12-17T19:05:00.004-08:00

Sold my drawing online:

Turned around and bought Claire Nereim's mini map print online:

"MASTER" at 20TWENTY SEATTLE

2009-11-23T13:39:00.009-08:00

SELF-PORTRAIT DRAWING LESSONS

2009-06-02T11:49:00.009-07:00

A seeing/drawing exercise for first and second grade students.
I took photos of their faces, and made them turn both papers upside-down.
I am doing a week-long self-portrait workshop, and it's FASCINATING!

SELF-PORTRAIT

2009-06-02T11:46:00.010-07:00

16in x 20in, graphite/acrylic on paper

SUCCULENTS IN CAPTIVITY

2009-06-02T11:46:00.008-07:00

16in x 20in / 5in x 8in
both graphite/acrylic on paper

A LLAMA OFF TO OMAHA

2009-06-02T11:45:00.004-07:00

5in by 8in, graphite/acrylic on paper

GOMA IN PERSPECTIVE

2009-06-02T11:44:00.001-07:00

(images on the way)

HAIR STYLES

2008-10-29T19:35:00.006-07:00

THE MOTO-TAXI DRIVERS OF SAN JERÓNIMO TLACOCHAHUAYA

TLACHOCHAHUAYA RUNNING CLUB

2008-10-29T19:32:00.003-07:00

PLUSH ALBATROSS

2008-10-24T22:39:00.007-07:00

A WORK IN PROGRESS...
AND A STILL FROM ANTONIONI'S THE PASSENGER.

STATE OF ENCHANTMENT

2008-10-24T22:37:00.012-07:00

HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS.
26 DAYS IN OAXACA, MEXICO
OAX-I-FORNIA 2008 PROJECT WITH CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

POSTER FOR OUR FINAL EXHIBIT

SMALL TIME STREET ART

2008-07-07T16:11:00.008-07:00

DURING A VISIT TO KANSAS, I PASTED UP SOME SMALL DRAWINGS WITH MY FRIEND KELLY. WE LIKE TO THINK OF THE RESULT AS A REWARD FOR PEDESTRIANS.

iOAXACA!

2008-06-08T19:03:00.012-07:00

I am Mexico-bound this summer, to study Oaxacan folk art & society with an experimental studio course through CCA. My own sensibility is highly indebted to certain Latin American visual traditions, so I'm thrilled and honored at the chance to learn from these artisans!

(photo of Mitla - courtesy of Descrubre-Oaxaca)

TOP OF THE WORLD: CARDS

2008-06-08T17:33:00.003-07:00

Available soon in my Etsy shop.

ICONIC: PRINT VARIATION

2008-06-08T17:05:00.003-07:00

Scanned this painting in as high-contrast b+w.
(click for detail)

THE WILDCAT DREAM

2008-06-05T19:17:00.021-07:00

Preview of a Kansas-y zine I'm compiling this summer.
Sons and daughters of Kansas (native, adopted, loyal, prodigal)
exploring crusty expat romanticization of our home.
It's not going to be soley about the prairie ---
--- like every piece of Kansas poetry ever, SHEESH!
Nonetheless, any proceeds will benefit The Land Institute,
a heartland citadel of agricultural sustainability.

(credit that top left image to Margo May)

SUNRISE SUNSET

2008-06-03T11:20:00.002-07:00

A self-published (ie, high class) zine with drawings/photos/ephemera, hopefully finished by July...

BRINGING UP BABY

2008-05-23T12:40:00.002-07:00

...in the Northwest.
And yes, that is a scar on her face.
You think a leopard is a low-risk pet?

MORE LLAMA DRAWINGS

2008-05-13T19:21:00.009-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

POWER ANIMAL

2008-05-13T19:15:00.003-07:00

I got a pretty and unexpected card from a friend a couple weeks ago, which prompted me to draw her a little picture and put it into postal circulation. I liked the finished result!

CURRENT PROJECT: LIFE SIZE

2008-05-13T14:19:00.006-07:00

I started a life-sized figural drawing on a big roll of butcher paper! It's FUN to be working a grander scale, compared to my usual scraps of art. My digital camera is broken, but this is a petite sketch I'm using to map out the larger version:

Inspired by: Brazilian currency

...and human anatomy

WATERCOLOR SKETCH

2008-05-13T14:11:00.003-07:00

Lately I have been dipping into watercolors at the elementary school where I work. To my surprise, many of my results look just like the little hand-painted, hand-lettered story books my great-grandmother Lolo used to make me!

HAZEL'S DOG WALKING: LOGO DESIGN

2008-05-13T13:58:00.007-07:00

This is a logo I drew recently for a nice gal who's starting a dog walking business in Seattle. Hee hee, cute!

FOLKS & LLAMAS -- AT VÉRITÉ IN APRIL

2008-03-22T13:30:00.016-07:00

F O L K S & L L A M A S :
EMBLEMS OF AN UNCLEAR BURDEN
DRAWINGS BY ANNA WETZEL

ON DISPLAY IN APRIL
Vérité Coffee / Cupcake Royale
1101 34th Avenue - in Madrona

SATURDAY APRIL 5 /// 6 - 8 pm
Opening Reception & Benefit
Event for Heifer International

Photos from the reception, thanks to Julio.

(((HOME))) FOR CHRISTMAS II

2008-01-08T11:02:00.002-08:00

Man, I love that stinkin' alley. Our small festive spectacle was an even more extraordinary affair than I could have hoped for! To recap:

My Drawings

Mini off-kilter architectural portraits displayed on the apropos brick wall

Amy's Light Installation

Conceived on the spot, her houses reinforced the concept visually (referencing the classic "house" icon) and spatially (the scale/glow/warmth of the installation created a distinct "interior" within the alley)

Live Christmas Tunes

We let Margo remain in Kansas City for the night, because her brother came back early for Christmas! Though it would have been so darn sweet to have Lady May and the voice that launched a thousand fixed gear bikes, we improvised with a delightfully un-Christmasy iPod playlist. Spontaneous, that's how we roll.

Winter Coat Drive

We amassed a big old bin of over 25 really nice warm coats and took them to Manhattan Emergency Shelter, Inc. Way to take care of each other in your own city!

Snowflake Production

Epic!

Warm Drinks

Oh man, that was tasty cider.

(((HOME))) FOR CHRISTMAS

2007-12-15T16:08:00.001-08:00

Drawings----------------by Anna Wetzel
Light Installation---------by Amy (Rundle) Fosha
Live Traditional Tunes-----by Christmas troubadours
Winter Coat Drive------------benefitting Manhattan shelters
Snowflake Production----------by friends family & passersby
Warm Drinks------------------------I will bring some, I promise you

Peace / Warmth / Friends / Goodwill / Love / Art / Music / Spontanaeity

Come revel in all these things with us. Have a warm drink, make a snowflake and contribute to a multimedia installation in one of the creative nucleii of our hometown. Let local musicians hypnotize your eardrums. Let Amy's light manipulation nourish your eyes. Take home a $10 drawing by Anna. Be cold outside for a little while. Drop off an extra coat so that someone else in Manhattan doesn't feel like this all winter. Most of all, celebrate with us the coming of a New Year and its manifold new possibilities!

SOME OF MY HOUSE DRAWINGS FOR THE SHOW:

ICONIC

2007-11-11T21:58:00.002-08:00

Many of the kids I lived and worked with in Brazil wore clothing that vividly showcased the Catholic iconography in Latin American culture. While looking back at some of the photo portraits I took, I noticed that this imagery was reflected in both the posture and projected innocence of the kids themselves, most notably in the adolescent girls.

Seeing these girls as arresting icons -- not necessarily of purity and benevolence, but of stamina, grace and youthful tenderness in spite of abuse -- has inspired me to work on a series of mixed media pieces that will explore the idea of heralding all ages of women who exude these attributes. That's the tip-off point for now, so I'll update as the work progresses...

VALDELANE, AGE 12

WORK IN PROGRESS

WARM RECEPTION

2007-11-11T20:08:00.002-08:00

(2006, 4"x5" mixed media on paper)

FREE FRIDAYZ - FACIAL HAIR

2007-11-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

View it at FECAL FACE DOT COM!

MACHINERY 1

2007-11-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

(each 2006, 4.25"x5.5" mixed media on paper)

MUSTACHE MACHINE

ENERGY MACHINE

LOVE MACHINE

LLAMA DRAWINGS

2007-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

(2006, 5"x8" mixed media on paper)

MACHINERY 2

2007-11-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

(2006, 9"x12" mixed media on found vintage decorative art)

GIRAFFE MACHINE

ZEBRA MACHINE

LLAMA MACHINE

(found frame details)

WHAT / MIGHT HAVE BEEN

2007-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

(2006, I don't remember the size --it was big-- acrylic on canvas)

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

2007-11-11T18:15:00.001-08:00

My Kansas college town didn't have any interesting galleries to show at, so my photographer friend Amy Fosha and I pushed the dumpsters out of the way and claimed a narrow street alley for one twinkling night.

Where would we be without hair flowers and incredible lady support?

Can I get an AMEN?

WE ARE

2007-11-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

FIGURE STUDY

2007-11-11T18:02:00.004-08:00

I think this is my favorite outcome from all of my figural drawings over the years. Click on the image for slightly better detail.

FACE YOUR FEARS

2007-11-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

(all 2006, 9"x12" mixed media on masonite)

COURAGE

SURE JUST

SUPER DYNAMITE

YOU'RE THE BOSS

IN DEFENSE OF

LET'S DANCE

SPEECHLESS KAUPER with JASMINE MCCAFFREY

2007-11-11T16:55:00.001-08:00

SPEECHLESS KAUPER (2006) was a collaborative piece I worked on with Jasmine McCaffrey as an undergrad. The individual pieces (7"x7" magneticized masonite) were passed back and forth Boo Radley-style over a few months, with a shared wall between our spaces acting as the surprise-bearing tree. When asked to offer serious critique on our playful project, visiting artist Kurt Kauper said something like, "I don't really know how to respond to this [pause]," and moved on to our individual works. Simultaneously insulted and complimented, we tributed this moment with a (cat's-got-your-) tongue-in-cheek title.

I'M BACK

2007-11-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

At the tail end of a glorious one-year AmeriCorps community service binge, I regretfully acknowledged that it had also been a bit of a hiatus from personal art-making. To give myself a little motivation (as well as to perpetuate my denial for the need of a real website), I posted some of my drawings and paintings on this blog. They're not the greatest documentation, as they were just digital snapshots collecting dust in my hard drive. But check back over the next few weeks/months -- though I can't promise improved photo quality, there will hopefully be something new (albeit blurry) to look at. My only word of wisdom at this point is to not click on the Kurt Kauper link at work. Enjoy! --ANNA W