Wynn Newhouse Awards

Bio
Felicia Griffin is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans printmaking, ceramics, painting, and fiber art. A recurring theme in Griffin’s work is the circle–a shape that connects her sense of self with the outside world. She is most known for her pom poms, which she enjoys making and gifting to her loved ones.

Griffin has worked at NIAD Art Center since 1985 and is among the longest tenured artists still practicing today. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Oakland Museum of California Art, and Christie’s Auction House, San Francisco. Griffin’s artworks are housed in the permanent collections of the Graphic Arts Collection at UC Berkeley, and at the Mission Bay Campus at UCSF.

Disability: Developmental Delay

Statement
(The following text is an edited excerpt from a conversation conducted between Felicia Griffin and former NIAD studio facilitator Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo. The interview, in its entirety, can be found in Issue 6 of New Life Quarterly, published by E.M. Wolfman Books)

What would you like us to know about you? Who is Felicia Griffin?
Um, well, I like to come here and have fun and I love my friends and I want to do some more pom poms and I like doing my art.

What are you working on right now?
A pompom. I made two pillows and put pom poms on the pillows.

Why do you like to make art that involves circles? I see that’s a repeated shape in your pom poms, prints, and paintings — where does that circle shape come from?
The circle is inside of me, a square too. I see it in the world too.

You engage with a lot of people while you work at NIAD — how does that relate to your art making?
Yep, I like doing it and um, I like to help out. It makes me feel happy! I started doing this: giving gifts. I go to the cabinet and get pencils and sticks and then I store them in my bag. Well, so at first, I take some things from people or from the cabinet and then, well I just give them away. I am always looking out for who needs help.

Do you consider the Art Center your family?
YEEEAAAAS! Uh, all my friends are here. I care for people here — yes!

Untitled (D2313) 2019 Relief print 22 x 25 inches Print on white paper with a grid of twelve black rectangles in the center. Within the black rectangles are elongated circles. Some are yellow, others are red.	Pom Pom (F0283) (nd) Yarn 3.75 x 9 x 7.5 inches Photo of a colorful yarn pom pom ball: short bits of green, red, and yellow yarn are knotted together in a round clump.	Untitled (P0405) 2023 Acrylic and marker on canvas 55 x 28 inches Rectangle canvas oriented horizontally. Loose red, white and fuchsia brushstrokes fill the middle portion of the painting, almost resembling the letter Z. Marker squiggles show through the background, painted in a bright turquoise. The artist’s signature, FCA, appears in the lower left corner.	Untitled (D1466) 2019 Monotype print 14 x 11 inches Colorful monotype print of an oblong form floating in the center of a white piece of paper. The form is the result of stamping several shaped lino blocks on top of one another. The layered semi-translucent colors create a sunset effect: yellow fading into pin, purple, and deep blue. The resulting print is textured all over with tiny stippled dots.
Pillow (F0074) 2021 Acrylic and marker on fabric 28 x 45 x 11 inches Large pillow sculpture, made from fabric, and shaped like a reclining body. The fabric has been coated with bright orange and green paint, and there are wiggly line drawings patterning the surface. A collection of round forms resembling a face is drawn on the highest point of the pillow, protruding from the left side.	Untitled (D7003) 2020 Collograph print 26 x 40 inches Long, horizontal print on white paper. In the middle is a band of scattered black and blue marks made by popsicle sticks that have been inked. Some are darker, others show only the outline of the popsicle stick.	Untitled (P0486) 2023 Acrylic and pastel on stretched fabric 24 x 30 inches Mixed media painting on a stretched piece of fabric. The image is an abstract, hazy color field. The application of paint conveys the artist's sweeping gestures. Much of the surface is a smooth gradient of bright reds and yellows, with a small section of dark blue and black peeking near the bottom right corner. A large cloud of squiggling marks made with white and yellow pastel is layered over top.	Pom Pom Wallhanging (F0215) 2022 Yarn sewn into stitched fabric 33 x 34 inches Square textile wall hanging made of a dazzling array of yarn pom poms in different colors. Though it is a static piece, the random, loose strings give it an air of happy energy and movement.