The work that Mari Andrews makes with objects that she collects is very inspiring , beautiful, simple, but conceptually vey complex……..fantastic!! What do you think?

I am really impressed with your work, they are sculptures, but most of them could be jewellery pieces, have you ever thought about it?
Yes, I have thought about them as jewellery and sometimes making very simple, assembled pieces, but making sculpture is a different activity and has a kind of intention that does not include being useful.

Tell us how you began, because you used to make drawings and later, with everything that you usually collect you found a way to express your drawings?
I have always drawn on paper and have sometimes drawn from natural objects I collected. At some point I realized I was drawing sculptural forms and did not need the rectangle of the paper, or the paper for that matter. I found a black wire that looked like a pencil line and started “drawing” with that. Eventually I began to include some of the wonderful objects I had collected on walks and hikes, from the city or the countryside. I still think of most of the work as drawings. They are just paperless drawings.

You use different materials, do you treat some of them beforehand to be able to work with them?
Not usually. Work I make from natural materials can change in color or shrink and dry out. It is part of the work. I try not to work with materials that disintegrate however.

Did you develop your own technique?
I developed my “wire work” by myself, no instructors, but I did attend college and graduate school and have taken some welding classes along the way.

You use wire in its natural color, what about adding artificial coloring?
Yes, I use materials as I find them. I haven’t made much work with artificial color, although I have a huge soil collection that I sometimes use in pieces. It is very colorful.

Do you consider each piece to be unique?
Yes.

How much time can it take to create one of your works?
It can take a couple of weeks or months. Sometimes one day, it depends on the materials and size.

You design all of your own works. Do you ever accept commissions?
I do accept commissions.

You work on your own. How do you feel working alone all day long?
I love to work alone. I love solitude. I just completed a residency in North Norfolk England. It took three weeks, of which I was alone the whole time, except for interacting occasionally with my hosts. It was very productive.

How did you start to become known for your work?
I just kept reaching out, looking for exhibition opportunities and building my experience and, as a result, my resume.

How do you sell your work?
I have several galleries who sell my work.

Being an artist, how do you deal with the highs and lows?
I believe in myself and keep working.

What is the most difficult thing about your work?
It’s fragility.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Accidents.

Which work has had the biggest success?
Work that includes stones.

What’s your dream project?
Creating an entire environment of steel rods and stones.