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.
As a teacher and mother, my studio rhythms are irregular. I lay down textured underpaintings in acrylic, then play for weeks (or months) on end with the scraps of drawings and monotypes I’ve made while hanging out with my kids on the beach or prepping art lessons. These pieces come together later as collages when I have the opportunity for more focused creative decisions.
Beyond my own divided studio attention, I’m confronted with greater examples of ruptured entities on a daily basis: our planet, relationships, rights, and institutions seem to be fracturing at an ever-increasing rate. What renewed whole can be created from these broken parts? My studio objectives parallel this question, as I unite various scraps and reconstruct them into something new and more compelling than their previous form.
B I O
Anna Wetzel Artz is an artist and educator based outside of Seattle, WA. She holds a BFA from Kansas State University, an M.Ed. from Rockhurst University, and was a 2008 member of Oax-i-fornia, California College of the Art’s collaborative design workshop. Anna teaches elementary art in public schools, and maintains a quarterly art subscription called Go Slow Art Club which connects collectors to affordable small works and features quarterly guest artist collaborations.
C V
b. Kansas City, Missouri, 1983
E D U C A T I O N
2016 Seattle Pacific University, K-12 Visual Arts Endorsement, Seattle, WA
2014 Rockhurst University, MEd in Elementary Education, Kansas City, MO
2008 California College of the Arts, Oax-i-fornia Workshop, Oaxaca, Mexico
2006 Kansas State University, BFA in Painting, Manhattan, KS
T E A C H I N G
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
E X H I B I T I O N S
2025 (upcoming) As Grass Grows: Ten Years at Prairieside Outpost, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO
2024 Spotlight North Artists Exhibit, Shoreline City Hall, Shoreline, WA
Cut & Paste: The Art of Collage (online), Conversations with Artists
2023 Landscapes: Peculiar Interpretations (online), curated by Wendy Romero
Moments: Real and Imagined (online), curated by Victoria J. Fry
Small Works (online), James May Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Co-Create, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, TN
2022 November Featured Artist, Casa di LaValle, Seattle, WA
Below Zero (online), Dodomu Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Selections from Buena Vista, Kirkland Arts Center Satellite Gallery, Kirkland, WA
2010 Travelin’ light, Dolce Vita, Seattle, WA
Buena Vista, Some Space Gallery, Seattle, WA
2009 Master, 20twenty, Seattle, WA
Bettering the World Through Art, 108 Occidental Gallery, Seattle, WA
2008 Oax-i-fornia, Casa de la Ciudad, Oaxaca, Mexico
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2023 Prairieside Outpost Artist Residency, Matfield Green, KS
2010 Best of Art Walk Award, CityArts Magazine, Seattle, WA
PUBLICATIONS
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
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