Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Meriwether.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been creative. I used to stow away in my closet as a kid and draw for hours, literally creating my own world around me. I grew up in a small rural town raised by a single mom in Mississippi. I watched my mother work hard to get on her feet as a single woman just to barely make ends meet. She has always stressed to me the value of being passionate about what I invest my time and work into. As I got older, I realized the importance of her message because my career is what I spend the greater part each day invested in. This instilled in me not only the concept of working hard, but also connected me to the realization of the childhood-like fantasy of creating my own world. Daily, my choices and my work ethic dictate my reality.
My first art class was during my junior year in high school when my small school established an art program with an amazing and supportive art teacher. I started undergraduate studies in Alabama as an art therapy major and started painting as a junior in college, which ultimately changed my career path from art therapy to fine arts. I dreaded the idea of feeling constricted and clinical. If I were going to work with others in the arts, I wanted to get my hands dirty and be involved in the process of creating while connecting to others. I began teaching and decided to continue on to graduate school at New York University and Long Island University to obtain a master’s degree in fine arts. I taught for ten years, which has been one of the most joyous professions to take part in as an artist. I now create in my studio full time.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m fascinated with the concept of identity and how we are an accumulation of our experiences and surroundings; all complexities that define the way people portray themselves to the world. I paint portraits or parts of the face in oil, specifically women’s faces. Creating, in a sense, has become my place of empowerment and rebellion. Art doesn’t have to be pretty, deal with stereotypes, or match the decor. My artwork is where I feel safe to push back, insert my opinions, and challenge conventions in popular culture as a woman. My paintings all have some detail of creating a space of internal reflection of the outward experience of one’s individuality, whether through the added use of collage, thread or painted elements.
In addition to painting, I also create collaged portrait images from various magazines and thread. Collage, by its own nature, is an assemblage of various elements. My collaged pieces speak to the effect of assembling ourselves from a variety of influences. The use of thread is intended as an obtrusive and unsettling domestic element in my work.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
I have worked a variety of different jobs since my first job in my early teens, and I’ve done the hustle of four jobs at once. My advice would be to work hard in whatever role pays the bills and always continue to make time for creating. Build relationships with other artists and create an audience for your work because no one else is going to do that for you. There are hundreds of grants and fellowships available for artists as well, if you just look for them. I also believe in investing some portion of your career in arts education. In my experience, no job has ever been more rewarding than teaching. I would advise that if you are struggling financially as an artist, consider investing your time in the root of where you began your passion for art. I firmly believe that arts education should be supported by invested artists as well as patrons, starting at the foundational level in our educational settings. Opportunities exist not only in the school systems, but in non-profits, arts centers, museums and studios to name a few.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My current body of work can be seen in my Brookline studio or on my website at www.allisonmeriwetherart.com. I have work on permanent display at the Osceola Center for the Arts in Kissimmee, Florida and at the RTCA Gallery in Washington, DC. My work has been shown in several galleries in New York, Florida, Oregon, Alabama, and Washington, DC. and I have exhibited internationally in galleries in Seoul, Korea.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allisonmeriwetherart.com
- Email: art.ameriwether@gmail.com
- Instagram: @a.merarts
- Facebook: @AllisonMeriwether.artist
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