Interview with Anna French
Please tell us something about your background and your art journey so far.
I was born in West Berlin during the Cold War and spent my childhood between Germany and York County in southern Pennsylvania. I’ve lived a pretty nomadic life ever since and have held a variety of jobs: ESL teacher in Prague, batik artist for an independent Pittsburgh clothing retailer, and baker/cookie decorator at a custom bakery in Manhattan. I also finished an undergraduate degree in Art History and slowly earned a MA in Liberal Studies. I’ve worked sporadically in various artistic mediums such as charcoal and ink drawing, jewelry making and as a writer. A few years ago I discovered large piles of unsold books being discarded regularly behind a local used bookstore. I picked up a few that interested me and my obsession with analog collage was born.
Can you tell us more about the theme in your art and your inspiration?
Themes in my work include diverse elements of biology, numerology, shamanism, and sun worship. I’ve always been intrigued by the unseen side of life and what lies beneath surface appearances. I’m an amateur astrologer and inspired by the symbolism of the tarot. I’m also influenced by notions of orgone energy as described by the late Dr. Wilhelm Reich and the compositions and golden coronas of medieval illuminated manuscripts.
I’m intrigued by space and believe much of the energy which fuels my creative output comes directly from the sun. As a young child I remember looking at the sky and being aware of the sun as a profound sentient being. It was a part of my body and every living thing in the natural world around me. It feels instinctive to draw energy directly from this radiant source.
In recent years I’ve learned I’m not alone in this sentiment. Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of the former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, claimed in interviews that she literally ‘ate’ the sun for energy. And the late Bulgarian mystic Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov spoke of the sun as a physical reflection or manifestation of our own inner light and advised consciously absorbing the subtle emanations of morning sunlight. This practice is echoed in yogic sun salutation exercises.
Could you share any difficulties and hardships you had to face in life and how or if you managed/overcame them?
Shortly after I turned 30 I found myself in an emotional and spiritual crisis which arose suddenly and for no apparent reason. I was overcome with intense existential panic and occasionally lost my sense of time. Rapid-fire mysterious golden symbols flashed in my mind at night, and remained in the background during the day when my eyes were open. I had a small child and a full-time job and I survived this time through sheer willpower and eventually, intense meditation. I don’t remember when the ordeal came to an end but it was more like the fear just dissipated as I integrated new perceptions. I continue a regular practice of meditation and although I still don’t understand what happened, I believe my art is informed by these experiences and I am stronger for having lived through them.
Is the artist life lonely? Please share your thoughts and experiences.
For me, much of the joy of creating art is the fact I can work in a state of flow without the distraction of speaking. When I’m alone I can most clearly feel and articulate my vision. Regular creative work and meditation have aligned me with a deeper sense of myself and intensified my relationship with the natural world. So while I generally work alone, I’m aware of my connection to creation and am seldom lonely.
What are you working on at the moment and are there any upcoming events you would like to talk about?
I’m currently working on a short 16 mm film with my partner, inspired by Indian hand mudras and notions of a free etheric energy source. Earlier this month I began a large colored pencil drawing called Helioelocution which celebrates a vowel-centric solar ‘language’, conceived one sunny day while driving in my car. I also recently authored a book introduction for a collection of paranormal happenings in Pennsylvania and one of my collages will be featured on the cover of an upcoming autobiography by a speaker I met at a UFO Convention last year, which I am also helping to edit.
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