Anna Stemmer-Dworak | Valley girl
WHO IS ANNA STEMMER-DWORAK?
Anna Stemmer-Dworak is a contemporary artist who studied art at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria.
When Anna finished her studies at the „Angewandte“ she moved from Vienna and made her home once more in the Valley surrounded by mountains where she grew up.
Her art a very big part of her, she puts great effort into staying connected with the artist within her, taking time for her passion on a daily basis.
Illustrator, sharer of her world, here you get a peak of the wonderful and magical world that surrounds her. This she shares with us in her work.
I asked Anna a couple of questions and this is what she told me:
When did you realize that you are an artist?
I can't remember one situation, I guess I just never doubted it.
Who are your favorite artists?
I always loved the drawings of Marcel Dzama or Kiki Smith and some childhood illustrators, like Maurice Sendak, Alois Carigiet or Beatrix Potter, because they still can touch my heart from far away.
But I mostly take my inspiration from explorers and collectors of any kind and any decade.
Where do you work?
I like the solitude of my beloved studio although at the moment I often have to share it with my children.
Walk us through your creative process
I draw on a daily basis. In the mornings, when the two bigger ones are gone and the baby is still sleeping, this is my time for drawing.
I love to collect, wether it is situations I observe or it is stories out of books and shoeboxes full of photographs and postcards.
Did the environment you grew up in influence your work?
I grew up in the "großen Walsertal", thats a small and steep valley in the Austrian mountains.
Together with some other enthusiastic families, my parents tried to live in a commune for some years.
It could be that my longing for solitude comes from that experience.
My father did woodcarving and my mother is a studied engraver and painter.
What I found out during my study of photography at the Universtity of Applied Arts in Vienna, is that I never want to become a photographer.
The camera in between the ideas and the outcome was always in my way.
My work has to flow directly out of my head through my hands onto the paper.
At that time, artists who were only drawing, caught my attention.
When i moved back to the mountains I realized that this media is the most honest for me.
A day without drawing leaves me uncomfortable.
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A big thank you to Anna for sharing her story and art with us!
