Annie Lawrence is a modern woman with a flare for the old-fashioned. Real old-fashioned. So old-fashioned, she's into the archaic. "The forms I create are modern replicas of ancient archetypal forms"
" Somehow in my work, I wanted to continue with this part of our unspoken language. I want to create art that helps people feel connected to their most basic origins."
Looking back through time, the monolith sculptures can be found in many cultures. They have been used as boundary and funerary markers and were often decorated with carvings and inscriptions. The example most people can relate to are the megaliths of Stonehenge.
During her years as a sculpture student at UNC-Asheville, Annie concentrated on creating rudimentary pieces that, when worn by time, had and archaic quality to them. But lately, her sculptures are popping with modern-day color. Her newest pieces are the canvas for the natural images she loves - fish and birds, trees and rivers, the mountains and starry skies.
"Everything in nature is so perfect. It just feels good to be around. Nature is where I get my inspiration, It is where we come from - Where we can feel the interconnectedness and peacefulness of life."
"I've started thinking about these pieces as artifacts in their own right. I want them to be something people in future times can use to learn about our current human values, especially in these times of increasing environmental concerns. These natural images become a symbol of what many people from this time honor and cherish and what we all must learn to nurture and protect before they truly become a thing of the past"
Article by Jennifer McNallyArticle featured in the Laurel of Asheville Magazine April 2007