Alison's Artist's Statement

I'm a very process-oriented person. What I do is very much about the journey rather than the destination. While I love color, and I often look to the natural world when I want to include representative imagery in my art, the ideas that drive me are much more likely to revolve around technique. I look at a new technique and think about the different shapes I might make using that technique, or how those shapes would fit with the lines of a technique I already know.

I love playing with the plasticity of metal. It fascinates me how something so hard can be transformed into such fluid shapes with the correct application of force in just the right places. I need to actually change the shape of what I'm working with for me to feel like I've really created something. All my metalwork starts with plain sheet, wire and tubing. I avoid using mass-produced components in my metalwork as much as possible, preferring to make my own clasps, earwires, etc.

The more “from scratch” a piece is the more “mine” it feels. I am still exploring various techniques to see which ones will speak to me. It is definitely a work in progress, and I expect my work to evolve accordingly, as I refine my style.