Venn Ambassador Spotlight: Anastasia Morozova — Sketch Artist
Anastasia Morozova is a sketch artist located in Taganrog, Russia. Anastasia and Venn creator Tyler recently teamed up to create interior sketches focused on integrating multi-height work/play stations into environments that inspire and have space for movement. We are excited to share the results with you and would love your feedback. Read on for our full interview with Anastasia and follow her on Instagram @morozova_sketch.
Before we get into the questions, Anastasia had a few messages she wanted to share:
First of all I want to thank Tyler for his trust in collaboration and his complete understanding of the sketching process, why we are doing this, and what result we want to see. Our ideas were synchronized immediately from the first conversation and therefore it was easy and fun to work together.
About myself – I will briefly add that for me creativity is a universal language that has no boundaries. We can speak different languages, be of disparate ages, and live on an opposite sides of the globe but a drawing or sketch doesn't need a long explanation and that's great!
I have been drawing sketches of interiors, exteriors, furniture and decor for four years since I became a mother of a sweet daughter and during this time I was convinced again: manual graphics will always be in demand. They have soul and a special effect. This is what the modern world lacks so much.
You adapted so quickly to the concept of sketching rooms with furniture that oriented users towards increased daily movement. What inspires you to move your body and how did your passion uniquely prepare you for creating these sketches?
When I am first acquainted with a project and customer, we spend some time communicating and I find out what my customer is doing / intends to do, and what are his or her design preferences for executing the complete vision. It’s important for me to know what this person wants to see in the end and how it will reflect his expectations.
Sketches for me are an interesting tool for conveying thoughts and ideas. Collecting as much information as possible, I spend some time studying and diving into the project. We can discuss and propose solutions together if necessary. For me, this is a very interesting process from point A to point B. At the beginning I never know for sure what the end result will be or how I will apply strokes and shadows in the drawing process. But I am always very inspired and these feelings drive me constantly when I draw sketches. I love seeing the idea evolve and the sketch come to life under my pencil.
Please tell us about the rough concept and execution behind each room.
In this project the task was to choose interiors and incorporate movement oriented solutions into them: Air Chairs, Sitting Cushion, with Floor Pads and a rock-mats that imitates stones on the seashore. I started creating different interiors and schematically placed these objects into them. Then we discussed these test options with Tyler and exchanged notes, inserted products with different ergonomic choices, or chose an angle we liked the best of a particular room concept. Everything was very easy and even fun. I learned a lot about such a movement oriented approach to the arrangement of my home and workplace and felt inspired and curious for the results of our work. We have created interior sketches of an office, a bedroom / studio with an integrated workstation, a living room with a work-from-home setup, a children's room, and even a garage equipped as an office! Our ideas were bubbling and generated very quickly 😄
“I love seeing the idea evolve and the sketch come to life under my pencil.”
While evolving each room concept by replacing various items with movement friendly options, which substitution surprised you or changed the way you looked at the making of a room or house?
The most unusual sketch for me was the sketch of the garage where we combined a work / creative area and the usual area for parking cars, storing things, tools and household equipment. This is such a place named in every man's dreams 😆 an ideal place in the house for privacy from household worries. We didn't just place Venn items. We deliberated over the Air Chair use case in the space, what height workstations we wanted to have, added in a floor desk station, separated the two zones in the garage, researched what kind of a movable yet insulating partition could be used, and placed a big carpet on the floor to make the surface more amenable.
Sketching is an intense practice. How do you take care of your body so you avoid repetitious use injury?
I draw using programs on iPad so I feel a lot of strain on my eyesight and body as a whole. Sometimes I have to sit 8-10 hours during the drawing process. I like to use a kitchen timer to help me take breaks, combine household chores with physical activity, go for a walk in the park, or head to the gym for a workout.
Have you ever used movement, like a walk, sport, or adventure, to help overcome creative block? What is your preferred movement activity and why does it work for you?
A change of activity, a full sleep, and walks with family and friends or communication with colleagues helps me overcome a creative crisis. The most effective physical activity for me is walking, fitness training, and yoga in the morning. After that I feel the strength to move on with the sketching process.
“Creativity is a universal language that has no boundaries. We can speak different languages, be of disparate ages, and live on an opposite sides of the globe but a drawing or sketch doesn’t need a long explanation and that’s great!”
At Venn, we zig when others zag. What's something in work or life that you approach differently, philosophically, physically, or emotionally, than others?
Perhaps this is not my strong suit to act differently from everyone else. But I have a fundamental point in my work: I am very demanding of myself, responsible for my work from beginning to the end, and always ready to work on creative ideas together with the customer and show my vision through sketches. Can we call it "zigzag" approach? 😄 🤔 Maybe
Follow Anastasia on Instagram @morozova_sketch.
