Ann Meade comes from a long family line of artists, including her great grandmother, grandmother, cousin and aunt. Ann is proud to have a family history of creators and feels that her family’s legacy informs her work and her drive to create. Cats are another cornerstone for Ann’s practice; she had a cat as a child and they have always been an important part of her life.
Making art keeps her life centered and calm, according to Ann. Art is about having fun to Ann and ‘seeing where it goes.’ Ann has been practicing her work since her high school days, where she took advanced art classes and exhibited work in her district’s high school art show in her senior year.
Ann’s favorite materials to work with are oil pastels and watercolors. She likes to work with watercolors because they’re simple and direct for her. She also enjoys experimenting with ink, often drawing people pulled from books and magazines. Ann likes to make work both from her imagination as well as by direct observation from photos and real life. Clay is another medium Ann has excelled at; she shares that ‘clay feels good to touch, it’s good to put it together.’
A lifelong California based artist, Ann cites the state as a main inspiration for her. She likes the art, baseball and diverse landscapes of California, especially the Oakland A’s baseball team. NIAD Art Center feels like a second home to Ann. She shares, ‘I like coming to NIAD because I enjoy making art.’
// Ann’s work in our store //
recent exhibition history
Mud Pie Mansion, organized by Kristin Farr // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2023
Untangling Webs: A Journey In Abstract Textiles, organized by Alexander Hernandez // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2023
Small Wonders, organized by kg // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2023
an echo carries texture // organized by Steph Kudisch // NIAD Online Exhibition // June 2023
Championship Belt // NIAD Main Galley Exhibition // June 2023
Into the Brightness: Artists from Creativity Explored, Creative Growth & NIAD // Oakland Museum of California // May 2023
Empty Kind Of Full, organized by Tara Neuffer // NIAD Online Exhibition // May 2023
Animal, Animal, Vegetable, Vegetable, Mineral, Mineral organized by Nick Schutzenhofer // NIAD Online Exhibition // March 2023
Waking, Breathing, Making! organized by Laura Kamian McDermott // NAID Online Exhibition // February 2023
Search Engine organized by Diego Leclery // NIAD Online Exhibition // January 2023
Subtle Sweetness organized by Jamie Walsh // NIAD Online Exhibition // January 2023
Holiday Gift Guide // “Between Worlds” organized by Joey Enos // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2022
NIAD Ink: 35 Years of Prints organized by Andrés Cisneros-Galindo // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2022
NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #1: NIAD is for Animal Lovers ,organized by Dorian Reid // Online Exhibition // November 2022
Crossover: Cedars of Marin + NIAD // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // November 2022
What’s Cookin’?! ,organized by Terri Moore // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // November 2022
A Stick In The Snow organized by Joanna and Milo Moyer-Battick // NIAD Online Exhibition // October 2022
Blow Like Magic In Their Face And Vanish organized by James Sterling Pitt // October 2022
Whales and Pencil Holders, organized by Emma Spertus // NIAD Annex Exhibition // September 2022
I Wanna See All My Friends At Once, organized by Cone Shape Top // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2022
A Little Bit of Everything: Fashion & Fiber at NIAD // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // July 2022
Living forces, organized by Fernanda Martinez // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2022
DESIRE DESIRE, organized by Diego Leclery // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
Creature Comfort, organized by Sydney Pfaff // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
Connect the Dots // SAIC Wellness Center, Chicago, IL // March 2022
WIN WIN 10 Silent Auction Preview Exhibition // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // February 2022
Murmuration, organized by Alisa Golden // NIAD Online Exhibition // January 2022
Menagerie on 23rd Street, organized by Prajakti Jayavant // NIAD Windows Exhibition // December 2021
Holiday Gift Guide #5, organized by Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2021
Con Los Animales Estamos Conectados, organized by Christo Oropeza // NIAD Windows Exhibition // November 2021
Stories, organized by B. Wurtz // NIAD Online Exhibition // November 2021
Good On Paper: Erin McCluskey Wheeler x NIAD // NIAD Art Center 2020
Championship Belt // organized by Deatra Colbert and Ann Meade Mule Gallery San Francisco 2019
Turn To Stone // organized by Em Kettner NIAD Art Center 2019
Hailing From Parts Unknown // organized By Curtis Turner May 2019
Books, Man // organized by Mike Monteiro NIAD Art Center 2019
Redefining Contemporary Art // organized by Courtney Eldridge Depot Steamboat Springs 2019
¡Trio! // Roll Up Project Oakland 2019
Collective Memory: NIAD // organized by Hannah Mode 2019
Cyrano // organized By Em Kettner NIAD Art Center 2018
All Of The Light // organized by Gina Borg NIAD Art Center 2017
Affinity // organized by Tim Buckwalter Museum of Northern California Art Chico 2017
The Fourth Dimension, organized by Marja Galpin van der Loo // NIAD Art Center 2017
Word Play // organized by Kate Klingbeil NIAD Art Center 2017
Creature Feature // organized by John Casey NIAD Art Center 2017
Souls And Scenarios // organized by Gina Borg NIAD Art Center 2016
Party Animals! // organized by Katie Johnson NIAD Art Center 2016
Celebrating A Vision: Art & Disability // SFO Terminal 2 2016
Making Friends // organized by John Casey NIAD Art Center 2015
The Geometry Of Cats: The Recent Work Of Ann Meade // NIAD Art Center 2014
Local Motion, Part Two // Hercules Public Library 2014
Diamond Dogs Pet Supply // NIAD Art Center 2013
Spring Training // NIAD Art Center 2013
Publications
Connect the Dots exhibition catalog // Wellness Center, School of the Art Institute of Chicago // April 2022
100 Stories of Belonging in the S.F. Bay Area, edited by Christine Wong Yap, 2019.