A N N A W E T Z E L A R T Z is a mixed-media artist and K-12 certificated art educator based in Seattle, WA. Born in Kansas City, MO, she has been working in the Pacific Northwest since 2006. Anna received her BFA from Kansas State University, her M.Ed. from Rockhurst University, and was a participant in California College of the Arts’ collaborative Oax-i-fornia program. Anna has exhibited nationally and internationally and works as an elementary art teacher in public schools.
A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
I integrate textures from the coast, plains, and forest floor into mixed media paintings, reflecting the rugged tranquility of the natural world. Rooted in the concept of rupture and repair, my work comes together in messy fragments and explores the resilience and beauty of our wild surroundings. I have developed a practice of ‘foraging’ for simple lines, shapes, and textures whenever I am outdoors, and preserving these in a sketchbook expressly for this purpose. Collected images serve as a springboard for authentic mark-making in my paintings, but the process of gathering has a utility as well. This exercise links my studio work to everyday life, heightens my attention to the natural world, and anchors my visual vocabulary in the nourishing language of the environment.
E D U C A T I O N
2014 Rockhurst University, MEd in Elementary Education, Kansas City, MO
2006 Kansas State University, BFA in Painting, Manhattan, KS
2016 Seattle Pacific University, K-12 Visual Arts Endorsement, Seattle, WA
2008 California College of the Arts, Oax-i-fornia Workshop, Oaxaca, Mexico
T E A C H I N G E X P E R I E N C E
2021—present K-5 Art Specialist, Mercer Island School District, Mercer Island, WA
2015—2021 Fifth Grade Teacher, Mercer Island School District, Mercer Island, WA
A W A R D S & R E S I D E N C I E S
2025 Shoreline Public Art Artist-in-Residence, Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, Shoreline, WA
2023 Prairieside Outpost Artist Residency, Matfield Green, KS
2010 Best of Art Walk Award, CityArts Magazine, Seattle, WA
E X H I B I T I O N S
2025 As Grass Grows: Ten Years at Prairieside Outpost, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO
2025 Salon Exhibit, Kiosk Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2025 Environmental Ties II, Magnuson Park Gallery, Seattle, WA
2024 Spotlight North Artists Exhibit, Shoreline City Hall, Shoreline, WA
2023 Landscapes: Peculiar Interpretations (online), Midwest Nice, curated by Wendy Romero
2023 Moments: Real and Imagined (online), I Like Your Work, curated by Victoria J. Fry
2023 Co-Create, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, TN
2011 Selections from Buena Vista, Kirkland Arts Center Satellite Gallery, Kirkland, WA
2010 Buena Vista, Some Space Gallery, Seattle, WA
2008 Oax-i-fornia, Casa de la Ciudad, Oaxaca, Mexico
PRESS
2025 Exhibition Catalog, As Grass Grows: Ten Years at Prairieside Outpost (curated by Laura Berman)
Featured Artist, SPOTLIGHT NORTH Open Studio Tour
2023 PLANES, self-published collection of art and photography
I Like Your Work Fall Exhibition Catalog, Moments: Real & Imagined (curated by Victoria J. Fry)
Featured Artist, Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction + Companionship, Vol. 29, No. 3
Featured Artist, SPOTLIGHT NORTH Open Studio Tour
Push and Pull, self-published collection of art and poetry (collaboration with Carreen Raynor)
2022 Philip Hartigan, “Six of the Best,” Praeteria Blog, April 2022
2010 Joey Veltkamp, “A Chat with the Art Walk Award Winner,” Cityarts Magazine, June issue
Tessa Hulls, “Anna Wetzel at Some Space Gallery!” Redefine Magazine, May issue