Ann Stinner
Drift
Tunnel book with Fabriano Academia cover, and Peterboro and Canson Mi-Teinte for pages; painted papers, stencil, collage, paste paper, and machine-perforated treatments; acrylic paint, gesso, and wheat paste were used in the colouring of the papers; laser printed written texts.
9 x 13 x 0.5 cm
Artist's Statement: What impresses me most about life on the prairies is the powerful influence of the natural elements. In spite of differences in ethnic background or daily routines, all of us who live here must adapt to the climate and the weather. Nature is a great equalizer, and a key determinant of prairie culture. These ideas interest me as an artist. In the midst of the beauty and vastness of the landscape, and in the face of wind, snow, and floods, our human presence often seems vulnerable and temporary. Even if we live in cities, we all pay attention to the rhythms of the seasons and try to anticipate the natural events which occasionally surprise us. This book work suggests, through both visual and verbal means, some aspects of the uneasy yet respectful relationship human beings have with their prairie environment.
The written texts used in my book play a supporting role in the piece. Even though they can only be read in a fragmentary way, these texts reinforce the general prairie/space/wind/winter ideas in the work. Barely visible in the background (black ink on dark blue paper) is a star map of the January sky as seen from southern Manitoba. The collage bit in the foreground is a crumpled fragment of a winter weather report from a local newspaper.
Ann Stinner was born in Regina and grew up in Vancouver. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. After working for two years as a production assistant for a Toronto publisher, she then devoted most of her time to teaching – primarily art – in the public school system in Ontario and, for the last 13 years, in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. During her teaching career, she has conducted numerous workshops for teachers and children in many different art media and processes. For the past 25 years, she has also created her own hand-made journals which document and interpret various locations, experiences, and themes. Recently, she has been exploring different ways of conceptualizing the book as an artist, in terms of the different structures it may assume and the various layers of text and meaning which may be contained in it. Ann lives and works in Winnipeg
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