Why I Work Across Print, Textile and Sculpture Instead of Choosing One

People often ask why I work across printmaking, textiles, and wall sculpture, so I wanted to share a little more about that.

Although they might seem like very different disciplines, they are all connected and definitely inform each other. It’s also the only way I know how to make work, it’s my process. Each material and process lets me explore something different, and together they give me the freedom to follow an idea wherever it wants to go.

Slowing down through printmaking

Printmaking for me is less about play, and more about slowing down. I work mainly with screenprinting, but also use woodblock and chine collé, and I keep lots of sketchbooks where my ideas begin. The repetition of printmaking gives me structure, and helps me focus on one thing. I build compositions gradually using simple shapes and colour, and the process itself teaches me patience. But also following an idea right through to the end, not once, but many times in order to make a print edition, 

Hanging On and Graphic Symbiosis fine art screen prints by Maria Atanacković

Many of my pieces begin on paper, even if they eventually move into textiles or sculptural wall works. For me, they’re all part of the same conversation, just expressed through different materials.

Textile brings tactility and softness

My linen wall hangings are soft, tactile, and  warm. Linen is an amazing material, it’s natural and brings a sense of calm that feels very different from a hard surface. I also love that linen feels accessible. It doesn’t need glass or heavy framing,  you can simply hang it and let it become part of the room.

My background is in printed textiles, so fabric has always been part of how I think and design, even when I’m working in other mediums. In the studio, I’m currently experimenting with linen in new ways, exploring how it might become part of my wall sculptures. It’s still in the early stages, but I love letting materials lead the way,  and who knows, you may start to see linen and sculpture combined in future pieces.

A selection of linen wall hangings by Maria Atanacković

Sculpture allows the work to become an object

At a certain point, I realised some work wanted to move beyond a flat surface. Assemblage and constructed wall pieces allow materials to interact physically rather than just visually. Wall sculptures let me build layers that project outwards. It introduces shadow, weight and balance in ways that two-dimensional work can’t achieve. I’m interested in how a piece sits on a wall as an object rather than simply as an image.

For me, print, textile, and sculpture aren’t separate worlds. They’re just different ways of exploring the same ideas. Boundaries between disciplines are much looser now than they once were. Many artists move between processes because ideas rarely arrive in a neat, medium-specific way. For me, the work decides what it needs to become rather than the other way around.

Aria, Maria Atanacković, 2025, birch ply and Formica