My name is Ana and I am kind of a pixie — small, nagging and a geek.
I’ve spent the first half of my life in the small island were I was
born. As I grew up, I had a clear view of the Atlantic Ocean and to what
I thought were dolphins but later turned out to be tuna fish. I wanted
to become a mermaid and paint on my time off… from being a mermaid. The
second half, well that has been a crazy ride.
Creating came to me early as a natural way to bleed out my numerous
worries, mostly a result of living on an island. My artistic tendency
came as it did, raising no sense of obligation, shame or fear — until I
went to art school. Committing to an academic institution that promoted a
stereotyped and narrow notion of art gradually drained me of my will to
create.
After graduation I decided to take a break from the arts. I got a
“proper” job, did some yoga, quit the job, traveled, learned to
meditate, got another job, became a vegetarian, quit the job, moved to
Lisbon to study animation, got another job, started cooking, considered
it as a career, did an internship in a
very-nice-but-not-vegetarian-at-all restaurant, had a work proposition
in the arts, headed back to were I graduated, stayed in Porto for one
year, almost starved, applied for a scholarship to work in animation,
didn’t get it, went back to Lisbon, then to my parents hometown for one
summer, where I worked as a cook.
In the middle of it all, I somehow fell in love with a scriptwriter and
was so lucky to have him love me back. We decided to venture through
life together, adopted a she-cat to join my he-cat (the only kind of
offspring we can afford for now) and sailed to New York to fulfill our
dreams and ambitions. Daily, as he burns his eyelashes working through
his master’s degree, I pile up paper goods on the kitchen table that I
use as a desk, working on my comeback.
Throughout what some may call a work process, I tend to be very chaotic.
I invest a lot of time in organization. I make a calendar, draw a plan
of action, define what should come first and last, schedule a time line
and then I blow it all up! Nothing but whim and intuition. I’m often
obliged to distract my mind with movies or music to keep the rational
side of my brain from raising issues and let the hands do the job.
I am never fully satisfied with my pieces as I tend to feel they are
always unfinished, but I love looking at them and do it with a sense of
pride for my little accomplishments. They are my kids. They’re frail and
sensitive and I’m afraid of exposing them to the world. But I’m also
proud of them and want others to love them
I have many undeveloped ideas waiting in the drawers, eager to pop
out. What’s shown in my shop is still the residue of a long period
without working seriously. I am using elements and materials that I’m
familiar with in an attempt to develop an article that will please the
Etsy shoppers and help me regain confidence in my work. I hope to do
more in the future, but I just couldn’t wait any longer to start! I’m
still trying to figure out the ways of the Etsy community but I’m very
excited to be a part of it.
As for my dream of becoming a mermaid, it didn’t turn out the way I expected — I guess I fell in love with the land.