"I truly believe the human soul is at its most vibrant when it is in communion with nature, but we as a species have gone astray... we need to tune back into the rhythms of the earth and remember that we are part of a much greater whole."

ÁINE is an installation artist, painter and designer based in Northern California. Working in thread, oils, and other media, she explores the emotional effects of light, color, form and space on the human psyche. By working in both two- and three-dimensional media, ÁINE reaches beyond the traditional art audience to inspire people in their everyday spaces.


You work across a variety of media and environments. Is fluidity central to your creativity?
Absolutely! My practice is largely about connecting with and conveying big ideas, in whatever form they may take. Having the fluidity to experiment in different media allows me to shift my perspective and approach a concept from a new point of view. I think this is critical to being able to coexist within a world as rich and varied as ours.

​The connection between the human soul and nature is a key theme in your creations, tell us about this?
I truly believe the human soul is at its most vibrant when it is in communion with nature, but we as a species have gone astray. So many of the issues we face as a global community today stem from our disconnection from the land. In order to remember how we’re supposed to live, we need to tune back into the rhythms of the earth and remember that we are part of a much greater whole that is full of magic and beauty and harmony, but only if we participate as we are meant to.

“I had to ask myself sincerely Who am I... The answer came through a sankalpa meditation: “I am Light.” it felt like a call to action, to use my art to bring light to a darkening world.“

Your education covers both the fine art and interior architecture lanes, how has that shaped your practise?
I now have the skills and expertise to conceive of art in the context of the built environment. I’m able to manage the entire experience of my work, from conveying concepts and sourcing appropriate materials, to actually building it with my own two hands. My clients trust me to sculpt their space into something that will enhance their daily use, and know that I will do it with full knowledge of building codes and best practices to ensure a fully functional, safe, and engaging space.

Your practise serves traditional art audiences and the transitory through your 2D art and 3D installations. Was it an organic journey to this point or was it planned?
I would love to say that this was all part of a master plan, but in reality, I’ve found my way simply by putting one foot in front of the other. This journey has essentially been made up of a series of decisions that each felt right in their time, and it’s just been a constant evolution to this point. I think it’s important to stay open to different opportunities and be adaptable so that you can welcome in whatever the universe has to offer.

"My installations, ethereal as they may be, are there to hold space for the people and functions that occupy them."

You recently adopted an artist’s name. Tell us why and how will it further enhance your artwork and journey?
2020 is an auspicious year for me - it’s the year that has always stood for “the future.” I also turned 30 in February, and had to ask myself sincerely “Who am I, when it comes to standing for something in this world?” The answer came through a sankalpa meditation: “I am Light.” That rang so true for me; it felt like a call to action, to use my art to bring light to a darkening world. At the same time, I had begun intently studying the sacred traditions of the Celts in Ireland, a people whose very core tied them inextricably to the land. I wanted to take on a name that would remind me of this calling, so I chose the name Áine (pronounced “awn-yah”), meaning “radiance,” after the Celtic goddess of love, protection, and fertility. These are all qualities I hope to bring to the world through my art.

Your recent installation in Oakland, California received a lot of major press - tell us about this project.
My first string installation came directly out of my work on Enlisted’s new office design. Throughout the process, I worked really closely with their founder, Beau Oyler. In discussing how the best ideas “float to the top,” I started thinking about how one could activate the ceiling plane. I pitched the idea of a multi-story installation that would serve as a metaphor for the team’s collaborative design process. Their logo was a knot, so string seemed like a great choice for material. It was a wild idea, but fit the company’s brand perfectly, and led to me single-handedly installing 60,000 linear feet of paracord in a vintage building at the heart of Uptown Oakland!
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"People felt drawn into them and could contemplate them for hours. It was amazing to see these paintings that came out of my own meditation became the object of meditation for others!"

"They surround and embrace, and invite you to take part, to live in relationship with them, and to enjoy your own personal experience of them. In a sense, they are placeholders for the whispering ways of nature that are omnipresent, stunningly beautiful, but also background."

Your recent installations - at Amazon’s new video production headquarters and for a high-end residential development firm - can you tell us about the benefits they bring to work and residential environments?
My installations, ethereal as they may be, are there to hold space for the people and functions that occupy them. They surround and embrace, and invite you to take part, to live in relationship with them, and to enjoy your own personal experience of them. In a sense, they are placeholders for the whispering ways of nature that are omnipresent, stunningly beautiful, but also background. ​Whether multi-layered and complex like Amazon’s Forêt Moiré or the quieter elegance of “All That Glitters,” each piece speaks to the unnamed yet intimate connection with our environment that we all intuitively seek.

You are a Yogini (female master practitioner of yoga) - how has this influenced your creativity?
When I returned to painting in 2016, my practice was deeply tied to meditation. Every week I would choose a crystal and contemplate its color in my third eye. I came out of these mediations feeling grounded, inspired, and with a strong desire to paint what I had just seen. My paintings manifested as color fields undulating with light, full of hidden depths and places for discovery. People felt drawn into them and could contemplate them for hours. It was amazing to see these paintings that came out of my own meditation became the object of meditation for others! That set the course for me to continue working from this place of sincerity inside of me. It’s a similar kind of alchemy with my installations, just on a much bigger scale, and in a more immersive and encompassing way.
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"Every week I would choose a crystal and contemplate its color in my third eye. I came out of these mediations feeling grounded, inspired, and with a strong desire to paint what I had just seen."

Tell us about some of the different types of installations you have done.
When I left the interior design world, all I wanted to do was work with my hands. There had been countless times as a designer that I would dream up something awesome only to be disappointed by the limitations of contractors. That was a major pain point for me, knowing that I had the potential to make a space shine, but wasn’t able to for reasons outside of my control. So I started calling my designer friends to let them know I was available for feature installations. This led me to some really varied projects in the beginning, like a “Cask of Amontillado”-inspired partition and an elevator lobby wallpapered with pages out of an Oxford English Dictionary. But my favorite installation medium quickly became string, of all kinds. I now mostly work with different types of yarn, cord and rope, each exploring a different use of the medium and achieving very different results. There’s so much potential with “string.” Who knew something as simple as a straight line, when repeated ad infinitum in space, could create so much complexity -- and beauty!

Painting v Installations. How do you approach them, what are the similarities/ differences?
Paintings and installations activate different parts of my brain and the flow back and forth between the two is balancing. When I start a painting, it’s very loose, usually just an initial outpouring of color onto canvas that then gets layered and refined and evolves organically. It’s the opposite with installations; they’re methodical, exacting and concrete. Initially, it’s all mathematical projections and studying the way lines interact in three dimensions. Installing the work requires more brute labor than anything. It’s not until the end that I can step back and see how the single strand gives way to a vast and shimmering landscape, equal parts real and imagined. Ultimately, both media take me to the same place of stillness, and I’m glad to have different means of getting there.

"Paintings and installations activate different parts of my brain and the flow back and forth between the two is balancing."

Tell us about your paintings.
My paintings, though abstracted, almost always grapple with the relationship between untouched landscape and human projection. I’m fascinated by how humans connect with the world around them, both physically and spiritually, and this manifests itself in various ways in my work. With the “Intersections” collection, I explored what happens to wildly abstract colorfields when you frame and harness some aspect of them with straight lines. More recently, I’ve been painting the women of the world engaged in the act of merging with nature at a soul level. Namasté, Love embodies my message to the world as she addresses the flowers: “We are the same; the divine light in me honors the divine light in you.” I hope this imagery can inspire others to find the source of their own connection so that we may collectively return to an era of harmonious coexistence with the world we inhabit.

How has presenting your work helped improve your understanding of connecting with potential clients?
I’ve shown my work in so many different contexts over the years: coffee shops, arthouses, bars, festivals, retail stores, galleries, healthcare facilities, and corporate offices. What I’ve found is that art speaks to all kinds of people for all different reasons and the people who connect the most with my work won’t always be the ones who are in a place to buy it. I’ve also learned that there are different ways to understand the concept of “buying artwork:” There’s the literal translation of someone actually purchasing a piece from me and then there’s the more figurative sense of someone believing in the work I am doing because it has touched their soul. Ideally, you find clients that will buy your work both literally and figuratively, but it’s hard to say which is more valuable in the end.

"Try to zoom out. I find it fascinating that at the most micro level of molecular biology, everything is in chaos. But as you zoom out, things become more clear, and more peaceful."

What can we look forward to from you in the second half of 2020 and into 2021?
In the wake of the COVID crisis, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “shelter” and plan to experiment with outdoor installations as a means of reimagining how humans occupy our planet and coexist with each other and with nature. I’ve also got some fun ideas for bringing a multi-media aspect to my string installations!

If you could have only one message to artists and non-artists alike, what would it be?
Try to zoom out. I find it fascinating that at the most micro level of molecular biology, everything is in chaos. But as you zoom out, things become more clear, and more peaceful. The orders of magnitude lessen, and eventually - if you zoom out far enough - all there is is blackness - total quiet, complete, unconscionable darkness. Try to zoom out from your own experience just a little, and see what clarity that broader perspective can bring.


www.annietull.com