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