Daily Inspiration: Meet Ailene DeVries

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ailene DeVries.

Hi Ailene, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always been really interested in the arts! Growing up, my mom was the art teacher at the elementary school I attended. Plus, she always painted at home and tended to these beautiful and expansive perennial gardens with her father, my grandfather. I deeply appreciated the communities she formed from her interests.

It wasn’t until I got to my undergraduate degree at Toronto Metropolitan University that I realized art making was much more than I could have ever imagined. I was taught by some truly talented educators and artists who encouraged and challenged me. I am so grateful for that experience; learning how to communicate through art.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I was raised in the Christian Reformed Church, which is a branch of Christianity brought over to Canada from Holland in the 1900s. For the first many years of my life, I only knew people who looked like me, and taught that women were secondary to men, and that I needed to dedicate my whole life to the Christian Faith. I value spirituality, but organized religion made me uneasy because I knew deep down that my queer self wasn’t welcomed. I am grateful for the love my family showed me, but that didn’t change the discomfort. When I moved out of the house at 17, I finally felt at home in my skin in Toronto, Canada in 2018.

When I was 18, my partner died suddenly-which was truly the biggest struggle on my otherwise fairly sheltered road. I’ve spent a lot of time with grief. Since this experience, I’ve been really interested in the topics of grief, dying, and death. Although I am left with so many unanswered questions, this has given me the capacity to relate to others and initiate this otherwise very difficult conversation that we, in the Western world, don’t otherwise know how else to have.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work as an artist, educator, and death-cafe facilitator! I mostly work within photography & textile arts–weaving through intersections of art, language, and botany. I use my lens as a professional photographer to approach fibers and botanical pressings to explore grief, daughterhood, and correspondence.

I’m currently working and teaching at CSULB. I also work PT for CARLEEN, a clothing brand based in Long Beach.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Spending time with my family–my husband and our dog. No one holds a candle to them!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ailenedevries.myportfolio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ailene.devries/