The Village Green is profiling the SOMA artists who were awarded 2025 Annual Grants from NJ Council on the Arts.
Ann Vollum, a British American fiber and mixed media artist now living in South Orange, has been named a fellow in the 2025 NJ Council on the Arts annual grant.
Vollum, who grew up in Africa and went to boarding school in England, draws heavily from her life experiences in her art. You can see the influences of her rebelling from her very strict boarding school experience to visiting her parents in France.
“I think the fact that there are snakes in a lot of my work, and that that comes from growing up in Africa. We used to frequently come across poisonous snakes in the wild. I was pretty scared of snakes.” Vollum then talks about bats when she was in France: “My parents have a house in France where the bats would hang down in the rafters over at the bed…I don’t want to go to sleep tonight.”
Vollum’s choice of media is varied. She incorporates vintage linens, salvaged decoupage, felt, sewing, and paint into her pieces. Yet the underlying message is the same. She’s quietly rebelling.
“I create protest art which is discreetly subversive. Feminist themes include: augmenting fiber art traditionally perceived as “women’s work” as fine art; strength and importance of female wisdom; treatment of women and girls by males; infant mortality; retribution and justice for women.”
Other themes explored include sustainability and the environment. The pollution of waterways, oceans and the toxic waste and its effect on wildlife, endangered species and on humans. “I use as many rescued items in my work as possible and practice eco and rust dying to give a rich earthy palette,” said Vollum.
“At a recent show somebody said, ‘Do you like Hieronymus Bosch and Edward Gorey?’ I like the weird stuff. I like it to kind of have double meaning,” said Vollum. “When you see the girls in the stomach, is he protecting, or is the beast eating? It could go either way.”
As to how she creates, Vollum explained, “I work very organically. I don’t really have a plan when I start. I don’t know what it’s going to look like in the end. It just kind of happens. I’m very interested in sustainability. A lot of the fiber pieces are on vintage linens.” She makes her own natural dyes from black walnuts and acorns she gathers locally. She also collects leaves and other plant matter, along with natural mordants (a chemical to fix the dye into the cloth) to experiment with on her linens.
Vollum, like a few of the other artists spotlighted, only became aware of the grant recently. This was her first time applying.
When asked what the award money will go towards, Vollum answered that she’d like to first have all her pieces professionally photographed, since it’s been awhile since she last had it done. She also would like to expand her skill set. There is a wet felting sculptor who offers classes that she would like to take.
And lastly, the award will help her enter exhibits and calls for art by way of paying for shipping. Some of her pieces are over three feet in height and width.
