Anna Carll with one of her painted and stitched weavings at Area 61 Gallery in Chattanooga

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CHATTANOOGA. Abstract painter Anna Carll will present a new botanical series of paintings and her multi-dimensional mixed-media painted weavings, at Area 61 Gallery’s First Friday opening, April 7. Paul Fontana will also present new work at the gallery at the opening April 7.

After studying bookarts with Hollie Berry at The Open Press in Chattanooga, Anna Carll began exploring painted weavings, bringing the intricacy and intimacy of those techniques to the larger form of wall-hangings.

Anna Carll brings a bookarts style of detail, including stitching and binding, to the craftsmanship of her weavings. Her work is currently on view at Area 61.

“The final step is the stitching with waxed thread that connects me with my late Mother who was a seamstress and nurse,” said Anna. Organic forms seem woven in to all of Carll’s work, whether a painting or the multi-media series. She notes the long strands of bookbinding thread, left with the tie-off along the bottom, represent hair roots.

Growing philosophical, she adds, “All life is interwoven—the removal of one strand begins the fraying process and makes the weaving incomplete.”

Being incomplete may seem like a contradiction to any art object found in a gallery space, but with Carll’s work, there is a sense of satisfaction in seeing the loose ends. It is as if the strings might begin twining on a trellis, as something reaching, or something about to reconnect.

View Anna Carll’s entire portfolio of work at AnnaCarll.com


Enjoy Chattanooga’s thriving arts community the First Friday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Regular participants include River Gallery, Chattanooga Work Space Open Studio Nights, and the Association for Visual Arts (AVA).

Area 61 is an eclectic gallery at 61 East Main in Chattanooga’s Southside district. Find them on Facebook

Commission work titled “Matthew” by Anna Carll

Anna Carll Erosion Series No. 5, featuring discarded sandpaper and waxed bookbinding string

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