Ana Maria Farina: Painting with Fiber
Drawing inspiration from the unconscious mind, Brazilian-American artist Ana Maria Farina is known for her brightly colored, highly intricate fiber creations. With a background in fashion design, Ana began using textile as her primary medium for art-making upon moving to the United States. In this interview, Ana gives us a peek into life as a fiber artist.
Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, where I lived until I was 25 and I came to the US to get a masters in Art and Art Education. Until then I had been working as a fashion designer for a multinational company. I guess I've been creating things since fashion school, but I did not consider myself an artist until I started my masters and took up painting, which I had never done before. It felt liberating!
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
My process is very material-based. Choosing the fibers I want to work with, the textures I would like to create, and even trying out new materials as I have been doing lately with clay are fundamental parts of my creative process. In terms of themes, I am interested in the unconscious mind: what lives under the surface. I am attracted by the mystical, creature-like, mythological parts of being human.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
As I mentioned before, I started off as an abstract painter. After being trained in design/illustration, it was very liberating to express myself through movement and gesture, textures and colors. But there was always something missing, I never felt I could communicate what I was actually trying to. Right before I decided to go back to school to get my MFA, I attended a workshop offered by Paradice Palase in Brooklyn, NY, led by the amazing Becca Van K on needlepoint. That experience allowed me to reconnect to fibers and textiles which had always been part of my life—both my mother and grandmother are craftswomen and taught me multiple techniques when I was growing up. There is something about working with thread and needle (or hook) that to me is immediately connected to our deepest instincts. Ever since then I've been painting with yarn, and other fibers, and lately I've also been playing with ceramics.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I've just answered this question for an interview at "I Like Your Work" so forgive me for repeating myself if you have read that interview as well!
I never have one day that is similar to another, especially with my teaching schedule. The ideal day for me is a slow morning with meditation, breakfast, journaling/reading, and cuddling with my cats, followed by some quality studio time before lunch. After lunch, a quick power nap with my cats (seriously, this is one of my favorite things to do and makes me feel like the luckiest woman alive when I can actually do it) and then I get right back to the studio, where I work until early evening. When I'm in there, most of the time it's like a workout: I give it all I have and leave when I'm exhausted (usually gross and sweaty too)—it's not cute. The process of tufting and embroidering large pieces is cathartic but also a pain in the ass. It's visceral, physical and labor-intensive, and I can spend hours working on a square foot of fabric that I might unstitch later if the result is not what I was imagining. I work on the back of the fabric, so I don't know how it's coming together until I check out the other side of the frame. Luckily, fibers are a very forgiving material, and undoing is as integral to the process as the doing. Besides the creation of pieces, some days I'll just be in my studio untangling and rewinding yarn, or looking at catalogues to find the colors I have in my head, or realizing I'll have to dye the yarn myself.
My art practice is very intuitive so it is constantly changing, as am I. I learn about new materials, new processes, and have so many new ideas all the time—all that influences the path I am on. I try to keep my mind open, and follow my curiosity.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
Being born in Brazil, a country where craft is so strong, into a lineage of craftswomen definitely played a central role into where I am today.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
Instagram has been crucial. I hate to admit it, but it is true! Being an immigrant, I came here not knowing anyone, and with no community at all. Instagram has made the process of connecting with other artists and organizations a lot easier. It also allows me to keep connected with my loved ones back home and know what's going on there.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
I would love to make my practice a little more sustainable financially. Maybe finding a gallery to represent me and help me with sales, or just finding collectors/patrons interested in my work. To keep working is my main aspiration! It is such a privilege, and I honor every minute I have for myself. It gets hard sometimes with all the rejections and some art-world people being terrible, but if I can find the focus and energy to go on I feel like I am succeeding.
Instagram: @anamafarina
Website: anamafarina.com