Joanna Anos is a printmaker, poet, and teacher. She holds a BA from Northwestern University, where she subsequently taught poetry writing as a part-time lecturer for ten years, and an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she has been adjunct faculty in the department of Liberal Arts since 1992. Currently, she teaches first year writing seminars in the BFA program at SAIC. Joanna’s prints have been shown in juried national and international exhibitions, most recently: The Boston Printmakers 2023 North American Print Biennial; the Five Points Arts Center Juried Printmaking Exhibition, the 28th Parkside National Print Exhibition at UW Parkside, and the 14th Biennial Miniature Print International Exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking.
Testament, Drypoint on copper, 12” x 12”, 2024
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: a Q & A with Joanna Anos
How long have you been at CPC?
I started taking etching classes at the CPC in 2012 and became a member in the fall of 2019.
What’s your favorite type of printmaking?Drypoint and woodcut are two of my favorite types of printmaking, but etching comes in at a close third..Why do you make art?I like to make things: I enjoy the process–and its challenges–envisioning, shaping, constructing, trying to figure how to and what might become of this or that. I rarely know where I will go when I begin, so I make art, too, to find my way.
What other media do you enjoy working in?When I am not making prints on paper, I enjoy working with paper: both incising paper and collaging it. I often use trimmings from my prints or cut up unsuccessful or old prints for collage.
What direction are you planning to go in the coming year with your work?I’m usually going in several different directions at once, so I anticipate doing more of the same: continuing my work with woodcut and drypoint, but also returning to etching and, too, exploring ink transfer and other monotype techniques.
What book are you reading currently?Letters to Gwen John, by painter Celia Paul.What is your favorite non-art distraction?Bird watching–often at Montrose Sanctuary and LaBagh Woods.
Who are 3 artists (dead or alive) that inspire you?Agnes Martin, Anni Albers, Paul Klee
Who is your favorite printmaker? Lygia Pape has become a favorite since her Tecelares exhibition at the Art Institute last year. And, Zarina, specifically, the prints collected in the book, Paper Like Skin.
What was the last gift you gave someone?I sent my sister a copy of the book Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by poet Mark Doty.
What’s your favorite thing about CPC?At CPC I can see prints and talk prints and make prints. Also, unlike my basement studio at home, it’s light and bright!
You can read more and check out Joanna’s work on her website. Read other Member Spotlight interviews here.
