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Q&A With Quills Warner, a Young Local Artist

July 13-20, the Wayzata Wednesdays Family Art Stroll will feature local artist's works at all  participating retailers. Schuler Shoes is excited to announce that Quills Warner’s art will be on display at our Wayzata store for this event. We are truly blown away by Warner's innate talent and honored to display such fine pieces.

 

We asked Quills Warner a few questions so you could get to know the artist behind our in-store display. We encourage you to stop by to view this young award-winning artist's work!

 

Warner during a field study in Iceland.

Warner during a field study in Iceland.

Q: Tell us about yourself. 

 

A: My name is Alika Warner (though I go by the name Quills in my artwork) and I am 18 years old. I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life, and I recently graduated from the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley. Over the past few years I’ve been given several awards for my art. This year I won both an achievement award and an award of excellence at the South Suburban Art Conference, hosted at Normandale College. Of the one hundred pieces, only fifteen achievement awards and five awards of excellence were handed out. I have also been given three honorable mentions from the Scholastic Art Awards. I’m taking a gap year, but I hope to attend an art college afterwards.

 

Q: Let’s talk about your journey as an artist. When/why did you start and what led you to do the kind of art you are currently involved with?

 

A: I’ve been drawing since before I could talk, and growing up in a home with a functioning pottery studio helped further my interest in art. I’ve always been interested in drawing animals more than anything else (growing up in a house with sled dogs probably had something to do with this), and that stays true to the art I produce today. I’m really interested in creating fantasy worlds and creatures to inhabit them. I love coming up with elaborate characters and stories for my “headworlds”. The movies, books, and comics I’ve consumed have had a big influence on my art.

 

Q: What art mediums do you use? Is there one you prefer to work with? 

 

A: I like to explore a lot of mediums. I do a lot of acrylic paintings, linoleum block carving, and mixed media sculptures. At home I use a drawing program called SAI and a tablet to make digital art. I also use Copic markers, which are alcohol-based markers that blend in a way similar to watercolors but are more controlled and even. In the past I have worked with spraypaint, woodblock carving, welding, screen printing, and paper mâché. I also enjoy working with textiles by creating patches with layered fabric and embroidery

 

Q: Where do you find inspiration?

 

As cliché as it is, I find a lot of my inspiration in nature. I love studying the biology of different animal species in order to incorporate new ideas into the creatures I draw to make them seem more realistic. I’m always finding new animals to study and look at. Along with animals, I have a great fondness of mycology, the study of fungi, and try to incorporate them into a lot of my art. Along with this, I also find inspiration in the books and comics that I read.

 

Q: Professionally, what's your goal? 

 

A: My goal right now is to attend an art college. Other than that, I’m still not sure what I want to do with myself!

 

Stop by our Wayzata location July 13-20 to view Quill Warner's work. Remember to bring your Wayzata Wednesdays passport to get a stamp and to grab a sheet to participate in the all-ages coloring contest.  Please view the video below for more information. 

 

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