We had the good fortune of connecting with Gretchen Wagner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gretchen, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was raised in Connecticut by my parents, both engineers, one mechanical and one civil. My older sister also studied engineering before becoming an architect. We were always working on projects, but our parents had one rule; If we wanted to make something, we needed a drawing and a plan. So I grew up sketching my ideas with drafting pencils on graph paper.

Color was something different, I had a fascination with it from an early age. In the summer, I played with mason jars and dripped food coloring into the water to try different color recipes. When I created a color I loved, I’d seal the jar with a lid, label the glass with tape, and store it on a shelf in the basement next to my Dad’s shop. When I made colors I didn’t like, which was more often, I’d dump the jars in the grass, refill them from the hose, and begin again.

These early moments marked a shift in my awareness between colors as physical and color as relative.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My most recent body of work, “Absolute Color,” is a series of embroidered monoprints where each print strategically manipulates the physical attributes of color to prompt an exaggerated and relative response; a bridge been the theory and application of color; art, and design.

I started my career as a textile designer and have worked closely with designers, architects, and manufacturers in the commercial design industry to address material, color, and trend research. My experience as a designer fundamentally shaped my understanding of color and the importance of light on how it can be perceived and activated in space.

In both art and design, there is an overwhelming need to understand color. To truly know color, which is an impossible, but inspiring goal. I am drawn to the ambiguity of color. How it can be provocative and material. How color can be applied, reproduced, perceived, and expressed.

This fascination with color research brought me to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where I just completed my MFA in Painting.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
On any given day, that I’m not in the studio or teaching, you can find me sipping an iced latte from Banjo Coffee in Avondale Estates while browsing the vintage selection at Mother Lode. It is my favorite way to spend an afternoon.

Monday sunsets are best from the Lloyd’s patio. Their Crab Night and happy hour are the perfect way to start the week. Bring 2-3 of your closest friends.

But if you need something more heart-pumping, a late afternoon skate along the beltline between Piedmont and Glenwood does wonders. Bonus points if your playlist consists of only early 2000s pop punk hits and you score a Chocolate Sea Salt popsicle from King of Pops.

My favorite way to end the weekend is a breakfast of assorted Revolution Donuts. These can be eaten lazily on the sofa or en route to the studio. Either way, an absolute favorite.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My partner, Mark Flanagan, has been supportive and encouraging of me and my creative practice. Whether it is a late studio night or an opening reception.

My parents, Peggy and Joel Wagner, and my sister, Laura Frederiksen, for their guidance, confidence, and perspective on living a creative life.

Website: www.gretchen-wagner.com

Instagram: @studio_gretchenwagner

Image Credits
Gretchen Wagner (headshot) – Michelle Carmona “Absolute Color” Thesis Exhibition image – Hannah Hufham / Lia Manfredi

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