Flower Studio

Fun with Flowers Demo Artist Ana Maria Hernando

Ana Maria Hernando will be in the DAM’s Flower Studio October 3 and 4, collaborating with museum goers using fabric flowers to craft a textile work of art.

I spoke with Ana Maria about her upcoming coming art ventures, how her art work has a connectedness to her home country of Argentina, and how she keeps fresh ideas flowing after nearly 20 years as an artist.

Ana Maria’s art work mostly includes floral and organic shapes that are created with a combination of textiles, paint, wood, paper and ink. The process of her textile pieces specifically all start from a single embroidered flower. She creates the floral design which is then sent off to her assistants in Argentina, where they create multiples of her original. To keep the consistency among her pieces she uses the same design with varying colors. After receiving the pieces back, she seams them together until it satisfies her vision. “A piece is like a conversation of discovery. I find myself still discovering things within the piece months later. I avoid adding too much to prevent the piece from being overcrowded. Ultimately, I will feel a sense of completeness,” Ana Maria said.

Ana Maria admits that her mind is always filled with ideas and a desire to create, but because her art process is very tedious and requires lots of time and attention, it is sometimes hard to bring every concept to fruition. She prefers to take her time making an amount of high quality art rather than producing in a quick and quantitative way.

Ana Maria’s future aspirations include publishing a series of poetry books along with fellow artist/writer Kenneth Robinson, which is set to release this year. She also dreams to one day have her work displayed in her birthplace of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ana Maria notes that they have beautiful art districts that would be welcoming of her art work.

When I asked if she’s reached the peak of her career she responded, “Every year my work gets stronger and more expansive. Today I have ideas that 15 years ago I couldn’t have imagined. So for me, creating art is a continuous process with no peak or ending. I want to keep creating until the last year of my life.”