mdby……MARI ANDREWS

The work that Mari Andrews makes with objects that she collects is very inspiring , beautiful, simple, but conceptually vey complex……..fantastic!! What do you think?

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I am really impressed with your work, they are sculptures, but most of them could be jewellery pieces, have you ever thought about it?
Yes, I have thought about them as jewellery and sometimes making very simple, assembled pieces, but making sculpture is a different activity and has a kind of intention that does not include being useful.

Tell us how you began, because you used to make drawings and later, with everything that you usually collect you found a way to express your drawings?
I have always drawn on paper and have sometimes drawn from natural objects I collected. At some point I realized I was drawing sculptural forms and did not need the rectangle of the paper, or the paper for that matter. I found a black wire that looked like a pencil line and started “drawing” with that. Eventually I began to include some of the wonderful objects I had collected on walks and hikes, from the city or the countryside. I still think of most of the work as drawings. They are just paperless drawings.

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You use different materials, do you treat some of them beforehand to be able to work with them?
Not usually. Work I make from natural materials can change in color or shrink and dry out. It is part of the work. I try not to work with materials that disintegrate however.

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Did you develop your own technique?
I developed my “wire work” by myself, no instructors, but I did attend college and graduate school and have taken some welding classes along the way.

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You use wire in its natural color, what about adding artificial coloring?
Yes, I use materials as I find them. I haven’t made much work with artificial color, although I have a huge soil collection that I sometimes use in pieces. It is very colorful.

Do you consider each piece to be unique?
Yes.

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How much time can it take to create one of your works?
It can take a couple of weeks or months. Sometimes one day, it depends on the materials and size.

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You design all of your own works. Do you ever accept commissions?
I do accept commissions.

You work on your own. How do you feel working alone all day long?
I love to work alone. I love solitude. I just completed a residency in North Norfolk England. It took three weeks, of which I was alone the whole time, except for interacting occasionally with my hosts. It was very productive.

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How did you start to become known for your work?
I just kept reaching out, looking for exhibition opportunities and building my experience and, as a result, my resume.

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How do you sell your work?
I have several galleries who sell my work.

Being an artist, how do you deal with the highs and lows?
I believe in myself and keep working.

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What is the most difficult thing about your work?
It’s fragility.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Accidents.

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Which work has had the biggest success?
Work that includes stones.

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What’s your dream project?
Creating an entire environment of steel rods and stones.

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05.12.14