Daily Inspiration: Meet Ann Brownlee Hobgood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Brownlee Hobgood.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been a person who puts 100% into everything I do – but I’ve always been a dreamer and a person who enjoys change.

So I’ve had multiple careers: A stay-at-home mom, a needlepoint designer, a store owner, a large art gallery jack-of-all-trades, a graduate student at 50 years old, a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students, a tutor of humanities in a private upper school, and a learning specialist in a developmental-behavioral pediatrics clinic at UNC.

When I retired at 62, I had no plans to become a full-time artist. However, all my life, I have loved making things out of scraps and found objects. When I created a funky self-portrait for an exhibition in Chapel Hill, it was very well received, and, just for fun, I started making other figurative assemblages from “junk” I had accumulated. People began asking to buy my creations, and it has turned into an almost full-time endeavor.

I sell my work through my studio, one-person shows at galleries, Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery, Alamance Arts, juried special art shows, online on folk art sites, and the Orange County Artists Guild open studio tour. This is my 14th year of creating my multi-media sculptures of people and animals – and I plan to be doing this when I’m 95!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My greatest challenge was space to work in. My type of art requires huge amounts of storage space for all the wood and metal materials I use and the tools that I work with.

Formerly, I lived in a historic 1880 house in Glencoe Mill Village where my studio was housed in 2 summer kitchens. I quickly outgrew that space and found a wonderful property in Hillsborough with 2 houses: one for me to live in and one to become my studio. It doubled my working space to almost 800 square feet.

Otherwise, it has been smooth sailing. I did my first show in 2007 at a vineyard and almost sold out! I work hard at publicizing myself through MailChimp, Facebook, my website, and participating in gallery shows. I am an artist who loves marketing and selling – rare for most artists!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work mostly with metal and wood that I acquire through thrift shops, metal recycling locations, and word-of-mouth. People are very kind to save their “junk” for me, and I often find boxes of vintage tins, old fans, electrical parts, peeling-paint wood scraps, wooden game pieces, kitchen utensils, pool and croquet balls, paint can lid, and unusual containers left on my studio porch. I am known for using unique materials to make my whimsical creatures that all have unique personalities.

People who visit my studio usually break out into smiles at my “menagerie.” And that’s what makes me happy! I attract very large crowds at my events because my work is unlike anyone else that I am aware of. Of course, there are other artists who make somewhat similar pieces, but people tell me that mine has a uniqueness that they have not seen in other assemblages.

I try to add lots of little details that give my guys great expressions and movement. I am probably most grateful and proud of the fact that I have the skill, talent, stamina, and well-being to continue my work at my age – 76.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
No books, apps, or podcasts – but I am inspired and encouraged every day by discussing techniques and materials with other folk artists on a Facebook group: Folk Aid – A Folk Art Festival You Can Attend Without Leaving Your Home. A Place to Sell Your Art When There are No Galleries or Shows (I’m not sure that is the correct name – I will email you the exact wording.) It was started by a folk artist during the pandemic, and I am able to sell almost everything I post there.

I have met some wonderful artists and collectors through this site. I am a very outgoing, social person and the pandemic has drastically limited my contact with people. But I have had lots of hardships in my life and I always land on my feet! My art has saved me – I wake up every morning with ideas and am eager to get down to the studio.

I lose myself in my creations and often don’t notice the passing of time and even forget to eat lunch! A VERY nice life!

Pricing:

• My art prices range from $7 to $750.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.recycledfolks.com
• Facebook: Recycled Folks
• Other: Facebook: Folk Aid

Image Credits
Ted Hobgood