paper artist anna gleeson





What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? Lists are good but putting the things on your list into your schedule is even better.
What’s your proudest career achievement? My first solo exhibition in Tokyo last year. I gave a talk and didn't get so nervous I couldn't speak! My mum came from Australia and I sold some work to a very discerning friend and an editor from So En magazine. I was chuffed. Sometimes it's just the little things that people say that I feel proudest about.
What’s been your best decision? To separate my living and working space.
Who inspires you? Lately I find textile artist Sheila Hicks really inspiring. I like that the joy of making is so apparent in her work and that she's had such a long and prolific career. It's that she lets nothing get in the way of making and her enjoyment of it.
What are you passionate about? Food. Good coffee.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? I'm looking forward to meeting a little niece or nephew who's expected this October. Who will this little person be? I'd love to meet Miranda July.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? Loads of stuff. I want to make bigger, site-specific sculptures. I'd like to do more installations in store windows. I'd like to try set design and to have more collaborations with people in different fields - architects, fashion designers, photographers... I'd like to try working with textiles, ceramics, resin, plastics, sheet metal, enamel...
What are you reading? Always a few things at a time to cover different moods and attention spans. Just now it's The Shape of Time by George Kubler, Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima and Le Gourmet Solitaire by Jiro Taniguchi.