For Kirkland resident and artist Anna-Julia Geiger, art can be found and created everywhere. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, Geiger is a working artist and owner of Anna’s Art Lab, a studio where people of all ages can come and take classes. The studio also doubles as a preschool where children can join drop-in courses.
Geiger, who holds a master’s degree in education, math, and visual arts, got her start teaching in Brazil and Africa, eventually settling in Kirkland after she began teaching in Seattle. Wanting to operate closer to home, she opened an art studio within her home, marking the beginning of Anna’s Art Lab.
At Anna’s Art Lab preschool, students participate in free play and learning activities and can be involved in creative project time, making brightly colored art projects to bring home. Using everyday objects one might find on daily walks or in their home, Geiger teaches her young students that not everyone needs fancy or expensive materials to create art. She practices sachensucher, a German word that roughly translates to “stuff finder.”
“I love when parents come back and say, ‘You definitely have a big influence on my child,’” Geiger said.
Geiger can be found in Anna’s Art Lab most days, spending time with her students painting; working with ceramics; or planning her upcoming Christmas market, where she invites local artists and creatives to sell their work. She has an upcoming exhibition titled “No Longer and Not Yet” at the Kirkland Arts Center, which will be on display January to February.
We caught up with Geiger to discuss the cathartic practice of art. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you first become interested in art?
My mom introduced me to art from as long as I can think. We had no money, and she just created art out of everything. We would go into the woods; we would collect stuff, and we would come home and make things out of it. We would drive to the beach, and we (would) search for random things. It was a game that we played all day at wherever we were, and we would then make stuff out of, or art out of, sometimes even trash.
What inspired you to start your preschool at Anna’s Art Lab?
I heard a big interview on NPR about how art is getting removed from all the schools, and as an art teacher, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. … And (I) just started teaching from there and quit my job. And (thought) if it doesn’t work out, I can still work at Starbucks or something. So, I gave myself a year, and I thought if it works out in a year, and I make kind of the same money I can just keep doing it because this is my passion, and I can create (for) myself.
I converted this whole space into this beautiful art lab, and the garden into an art space, and more and more kids (kept) coming, and that’s now 10 years ago. Now, it has become (what) people call it, the sanctuary in Seattle and Kirkland.
When you aren’t in your studio making art, what can people find you doing?
Working out and doing yoga. I love being in nature. I love going on walks with my dog. Or just being with my family. I create a lot of art around my house. People would see me around my house, putting mosaics on the walls and on the floors, decorating new things.
What inspires you and your art?
Other artists, mainly. That’s exactly what I try to do, as well. I hear that all the time, that people get scared and tell me, “Am I copying you?” and I don’t think that (there) is any copying. You can only get inspired, and then you might even want to try to do it the same way, but it will never be the same way as someone else did it before. It will always have your own impact on you (and) on it. … For me, art is all about the process, and I am using it to reflect on personal experiences to then grow from those. And this is exactly what my art exhibition will be about and what all my paintings will represent: personal growth through layers of experiences.
How can people incorporate artistic practices in their lives?
I think it’s a great way to have a little journal in your pocket. … It’s harder to write a diary, but you can collect stuff. Now, you can collect little business cards where you have been in restaurants. You can collect everything on trips. Like when I saw amazing toilet paper, I would rip it off and glue it in my art journal, and again, things that I found on the beach, I would glue in my art journal. … I think that’s a great way to reflect — having an art journal.
