Conversations with Anna Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Lee.

Anna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

As an orphan, I was adopted, and from there, life felt like it started anew but at sixteen I was emancipated. I had to support myself and make it through high school. Then I was awarded the Daniel’s Fund Scholarship and attended Colorado State University where I earned a BFA in Printmaking and then an MA in Art Administration. I realized then that I could professionally make art.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

My journey was a road was way less traveled; less than a road, it felt like a trail only I could carve out. My history is one of struggle, but it’s what gave me a perspective that I explore in Art. A child of divorce, orphaned, abused, abandoned, poor, homeless, and 30 years’ worth of mistakes and course corrections.

Working throughout my career as a person of sheer will, I gave everything for art because it gave me something to live for. Struggle doesn’t heighten the Art but makes an artist good at expressing themselves unconventionally. With a life like mine, it’s hard not to be creative. With the whole world out there, making art just makes sense.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

As an Artist, I work in mixed media and make art through color expression with paint peels. I also put my efforts into handling art, installing it, and exhibiting it, working through museums, galleries, and art centers. Putting up an exhibition is what drives me to be an artist, not because it’s supposed to be inspiring, but because it feels good to help show art in the best way possible. Even if it’s not my own.

Knowing that I exist at all fuels my creativity.