Ann Cole, Scott Group Designer

When did you know you wanted a career in art?

I knew I wanted to do something artistic when I was a kid, so I always took art classes. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized I wanted to design things. A lot of my art explores the idea of being hidden but still present, which is why textiles and carpet appeal to me. They exist in the background of our daily activities, but still affect our experiences or memories.

How did you get where you are today?

I got my BFA and MFA in ceramics but never really used clay. I ended up working more sculpturally with materials like plastic, fabric, or paper. Sort of by accident, I ended up teaching fibers at an art school, and it opened me up to textiles.

Tell us about a trend that excites you.

I am in love with texture. I have always been interested in how things like shape, dimension, or color can come together to form an interesting surface or the illusion of texture.

Where do you go for ideas when you’re stuck?

I like to go to the library or on a hike. So many things can go unnoticed. You might consider them unimportant or walk right over them, but if you stop to look, you can discover something beautiful – even if it happened haphazardly, like when these leaves stained a pattern onto the sidewalk.

What’s the most amazing color/texture/pattern/ material you’ve seen in nature?

Everything in nature amazes me. Especially when you think about things on a more microscopic level.

Who is your artistic hero?

I admire artists who transform space through materials, like Ann Hamilton, Tara Donovan, Ernesto Neto, and Polly Appflebaum. The reason I like their work so much is that they use everyday materials to transform a space – making us view the materials in a different way. They can be the most mundane of materials, but when grouped together, they create something amazing and new. Ann Hamilton’s pennies covered in honey are a great example, and I also love Tara Donovan’s works made of Styrofoam cups and drinking straws.