Artist Statement - Anna L. Johnson

I am in love with glass. Working in the hot shop, working with this material is what I love to do. There, I create a variety of work, from hollow vessels to solid glass sculptures using historical and modern glassworking techniques. Most of my work so far deals with clear glass, and how it might distort the world around it as well as acting as a kind of invisible barrier. 

I work mainly in glass, as well as cut paper and portraiture to capture the fantastical and non-fictional journeys of the self, mind, and body. I am curious about journeys. The ones that we are in the middle of, the ones we have taken, and the ones we might plan to complete but never do. Not all of these journeys are tangible or can be shown by looking at a map. Some of the journeys that I have investigated deal with value and self-image, how we and the culture around us deal with our bodies and how we see them. Using glass as a medium to create sculpted torsos that distort the world around them and asking viewers to reflect on how they see themselves and others. 

I speak to others who are looking to reflect on their lives and the plans they are currently making. I aim to explore what kind of universal journey we all might be on and how our own personal journeys tie together.