Anna Fleur (JV)

Interviewed by Eva Ramírez

Grade

12

Mediums

Textiles

Classes Taken at Harriton

Art 9H, Art 1H, Art 2H, AP 3-D Art and Design

Self Introduction

I’m Anna, some people call me JV. I think I’m a very colorful artist. Abstract is not the right word for it, but that’s kind of what I go for.

Interview

Art Focused Questions:

What’s your favorite medium to create with?

I do a lot of textiles, but I definitely gravitate more towards watercolor and printmaking. I kind of took a step back from it this year for 3-D Art, but I’m excited to get back into that when I go to college, and I’m a little bit more restrained with what I can do. It’s a lot easier for me to bring a watercolor set compared to a full sewing machine and all my supplies and stuff like that. 

What was it like working with metal?

I’ve worked with metal maybe twice. I don’t take metal arts. I’ve worked with wire for years; I haven’t worked with real metal ever, so I just work with wire sometimes.

What other art styles are you interested in?

I kind of miss what I used to do, like still live in art; I miss that a lot. A lot of times, I wish I could just sit back down and do oil paintings again, but I don’t want to go out and buy all the supplies and go through all the effort. And then sometimes I’m not going to finish it, and it’s like I’m now $100 in the hole. If I have the opportunity to do art in college, I will definitely take an oil painting class. 

Who are your favorite visual artists? Why?

I love Vermeer; I’m Vermeer’s biggest fan. Not for the Girl with a Pearl Earring, I hate that painting, I think it’s such a bad representation of who he is as an artist. I love Vermeer’s still lives of life, where he would just paint the mundane. I think it’s so beautiful how he would capture everyday life, for him and his family and the people who he lived around, and you can see there are so many things that carry from piece to piece. It’s so clear that he was painting what he saw, and I see a lot of that in myself as an artist. I sometimes feel like it’s hard to create something that isn’t there, and Vermeer painted what he saw, painted what he felt, and I love that as an artist. Also, his use of light is beautiful. Oh my god!

From where do you derive your inspiration? How does that affect your artwork?

My life, obviously, the world around me. I just spent the past year working on a portfolio based on flowers that have come up a lot in my life and how they’ve impacted me. So yeah, nature, I guess? And a lot of flowers. 

Favorite quote or idea from someone/something that inspires you?

It’s a Jack Kerouac quote, I love that man. He spent his life trying to find who he was in other places if that makes sense. He was an author, and he is most known for On The Road and The Dharma Bums, which are books about how he tried to find himself while traveling with others all across the country and then in different continents and places, and that’s really what drove his life. He has a quote; it’s like, “Love every moment of your life, every minute of it,” that’s the gist of it.

What is your sustained investigation/thematic exploration?

The general idea is how different people in my family and the thingshat they’ve taught me have impacted who I am today. I represented that through flowers that I thought represented them. They’re just like general flowers that my different grandparents really liked, and various skills that those people taught me, and then creating art about that flower with that skill, and then trying to show how I used what I learned from that now in my life. 

How do you plan to continue your art and incorporate it into your life in the future?

Unfortunately, I’m not studying art, nor do I go to a school that has art classes. I’m going to an environmental science school. But it is on the Syracuse University campus, so maybe I can take art classes there. I’m really hoping I can. If not, I work at a summer camp, and I often cover art sessions with people. So I get to teach little kids art, which is actually one of my favorite things ever, and I love it so much!

What advice do have for students who want to be involved artistically, but are unsure if they can fit it into their schedules in and out of school?

There are so many other opportunities outside of being in an art department class that you can take, i.e., Art Club and Zenith, Fashion Club, and Fashion Magazine. But there are other things you can do outside of school, and if you truly love art, you can find it in your life. Most of the art that I made while in high school I did not make in my art classes. I used them more like skill builders up until this year with AP, where those were projects that I would’ve been making outside of school. I’m now making them in school. If you really want to get into it, you can. There are a lot of opportunities everywhere like many libraries have art classes; you just have to look around.

Less Art-Focused Questions:

What’s your taste in music and/or what do you listen to while you’re creating?

It’s like indie pop but made only by lesbians and outdoorsy music. When I create, I don’t really listen to music as much. I’ll put on a TV show in the background. I prefer to be able to listen to someone speaking than someone singing. 

Does music influence your work or ideas?

Music is a very big deal to me in my life. Both my parents work in performing arts—my mom is a dance teacher, and my dad works at the Philadelphia Orchestra—so music has always been a really big thing. I feel like I find myself in music, and then the self I find in music creates the art. I will still lead my art through music, though it won’t be directly inspired.

What are the clubs or electives you participate in/take at Harriton?

I do a lot with HTC. I was just the events coordinator—RIP, no longer because I’m graduating. I was also the sound head for two years; after that, I was the secretary. I run Fashion Club; I’ve also done that for two years. I also do Science Olympiad, kind of. I wish I was there more. I produced Dr. Harriton, so I was booked every day for so long. But I’m excited to get back into it!

Is there a way to include metal in murals?

I mean yeah! Kinda like mosaic-esque? But with metal. I wish I could get into mosaic arts as a whole. I think that’s such a crazy thing that I feel like it is almost a lost art, like I can’t think of mosaic artists ever. We have one mosaic here. I went to Cynwyd Elementary, and there were four, and they did a huge one when I was in second grade. And I feel like mosaics, more than murals, will bring a community together cause you’re able to have everyone create something, and it can be shaped into something much bigger than it is. With murals, you can have so many people working on it, but at the end of the day, there has to be someone to go over it to clean it up. But with a mosaic, what the other people have made is there, it’s up to the artist to create something with it as it is, and I love it. Metal can be the same, anyone can make something more flat out of metal and that can be put into something larger, in the sense that it kind of has to be memorialized as is, it can’t really be changed as much.

Favorite place in the Philadelphia area/Nature?

I love the Wissahickon. Very specifically, it’s kinda near Devil’s Pool but it’s like to the left and up? There’s a little shelter that people have been building for years and it’s become almost a full house by this point. It’s really impressive and it’s gorgeous, my friend and I will go there a lot and we’ll hang out there. Outside of that? I kind of like everywhere. I kind of equally love and hate everywhere in the Philly area.

Speed Round Questions!

What is your favorite food?

Strawberries

Favorite drink/coffee/tea?

I love flavored seltzers, like I love a good La Croix

Favorite restaurant/dining location/fast food chain?

The El Limón on City Line Avenue, not the one in Ardmore. They’re very different, love it there. There’s a Thai place next to my house, Anchan. Love it there, but they have kinda weird hours. But I’ll go there as much as I can.

Favorite animal?

Otters

Favorite song?

Sedated by Hozier

Favorite color?

Orange

Favorite movie?

The Social Network

Favorite hobby?

Making friendship bracelets

Favorite book?

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou