An artist statement
I am interested in time as a subject: with how society values and devalues time and how individuals choose to exist within it. While pursuing my BFA,I was introduced to On Kawara’s work. I found One Million Years the most compelling of his concept pieces. Physically documenting 1,000,000 by typing it out and binding a volume of books blew up my brain. I felt the weight of the whole of existence and the lightness that is my own personal insignificance within it. He has been a major influence in my work and philosophy since.
My primary process involves choosing a framework of rules to work within and repeating the action until completion. My medium of choice is ink pens and paper. Like ink, choices and actions in life cannot be undone or disappeared. Applied to drawing, each mark informs the next. While there is an overarching plan and set of rules in place such as type of mark, how negative space will be handled and a general outline of shape, the details and “errors” are not decided or expected beforehand. If I am unhappy with a mark, I work with what is there and get on with it. The error usually melts into the completed image after more time is applied so what remains is a small scar or blemish. Often, the completed drawings resemble natural forms and I push and pull images, (usually faces and figures) from the mass of lines or dots. Making these drawings is a record of moving through time.
The challenge of my work is usually maintaining persistence through monotony. Not unlike daily life can often feel. Art of repetition, documenting the mundane beauty of life and quietly saying “I am still alive.” I Went and I Met -On Kawara
Education
2007 BFA in Drawing, St Cloud State University, St Cloud MN
Exhibitions
2016 Group Exhibition, SCSU Alumni Art Exhibit, The Gallery Saint Germain, St Cloud MN
2016 Group Exhibition, Community, Sen Yai Sen Lek, Minneapolis MN
2017 Group Exhibition, SCSU Alumni Art Exhibit, Atwood Gallery, St Cloud MN
2017 Solo Exhibition, Entities: Micropen Drawings, Ryder Gallery, Minneapolis MN
2018 Solo Exhibition, Entities: Micropen Drawings, Artspace Gallery, Hastings MN
2018 Group Exhibition, Art-A-Whirl, The Magus Gallery, Magus Books, Minneapolis MN
2020 Group Exhibition, SCSU Alumni Art Exhibit, online
https://studentweb.stcloudstate.edu/blamathing/AlumniExhibit/alison.html
Volunteer Experience
2019 - Present Facilitator, MontiArts Open Studio Workshop, Monticello MN
2019 - Present MontiArts Core Creatives event volunteer
2020 50th Anniversary Mural for Pinewood Elementary
2020 “Play” Mural for the kids at Pinewood Elementary
Grants and Awards
2020 CMAB Teaching Artist Roster grant recipient, St. Cloud MN
2021 February & March Residency at MontiArts Window Gallery
2021 CMAB teaching artist grant “Land Art, for KIDS!” Monticello Nature based PreK and Kindergarten
2021 Lead Artist, MontiArts/CMAB Cow Tag Project Community Art Build
Ongoing Education
2017 Art as a Journey II Workshop, GMAC, Grand Marais, MN
2019 Pen and Marker Illustration, GMAC, Grand Marais, MN
2020 Intro to Visual Criticism and Theory, MCAD