Ann Brooks

Artist Statement

I was once asked: “In one or two words, what means the most to you in life?” The answer, and the realization, came to me in an instant:

Creative Opportunity!

My artistic expression, often three-dimensional, is an effort to create beauty and simplicity in functional objects. Over a lifetime I’ve worked with many media. I learned knitting and sewing at my mother’s knee, sewing clothes, knitting sweaters and sox, working on a variety of embroidery projects. These led me to my interest in ornamentation and artwear.

My grandmother introduced me to travel — across the country by train at 12 years old, two months in Europe plus North Africa when I was 18 years old, as well as many solo and group trips beyond.

The Creative Opportunity that is before me now is presented by decades-long collections of yarns, fabrics, ethnic beads, shells and treasured tchotchkes. Now I’m experiencing the joy of combining them into jewelry using techniques from textile arts, beading and metal smithing. This and much of my art has been influenced by my travels over 70 years.

As I look back I see how influenced I’ve been by family, including my father’s engineering! Yes, figuring out how to carry out my creative visions often takes a bit of engineering!

Biography

As an artist, I’ve “worn many hats”. I learned knitting and sewing at my mother’s knee. In the 1980s weaving was a natural. When I tired of the two dimensionality of weaving I transitioned to simple beaded jewelry. In the early 1990s, I branched out, taking metal smithing and fiber sculpture classes at College of Marin. Knitting re-entered, knitting wire fine gage electronics wire. With my unique knit wire jewelry, participation in national, competitive craft shows followed. My work was featured in magazines, books, and used in Hollywood costume design. Click here to see the archives of my knit wire jewelry.

During the 2000s I traveled to faraway lands as a photographer. National Geographic licensed an image on several occasions. Click here to see my travel photography archives. In 2008 I designed jewelry using beads from artisans from around the world, a collaboration, if you will. The beads were part of traditions handed down for generations. That jewelry grew out of a fascination with exotic lands, which began in 1952, when my grandmother took me to Morocco (and Europe) as a teenager. In 2013 I worked with polymer clay as a fine art jewelry medium. In 2016 I returned to textiles. I designed and created wearable art which gave me the opportunity to mix textiles, both ethnic and contemporary. “Secret Pockets” also came into being at this time.

In 2022, I opened a new studio at MarinMOCA campus. I began combining antique ethnic embroidery with contemporary fabrics and created my Desert Jewel series of jewelry.

Current mediums in my studio are ethnic jewelry, fiber/textiles –”Secret Pockets,” and my archival travel photography. Come visit! Please follow me on instagram: @annbrooksstudio

Art Medium(s)

Photography, Mixed Media, Fiber, Jewelry

Group Studio Details

This year, visit 22 artists in their studios on the campus of Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. I look forward to welcoming you to my Studio H in the 781 Hamilton Parkway Building behind, next to Beso Bistro. We are the first turn off 101 at the San Rafael/Novato city line.