Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyson Souza.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alyson. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I didn’t grow up with much money and my parents made everything. I never questioned this. I just assumed that if you wanted something you could figure out a way to make it and I always have. This is the most valuable skill that I took from my childhood. When I was 17, I received a scholarship to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. I lived in the city and made art there until 1997. A few years prior, I began to make three-dimensional paintings with wood, somewhat like an image in a pop up book. Some had mechanical or electrical components. In 2000, I had my first show at the Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica. Since then, I have shown throughout the united states. My most recent solo show was a called “Life Among the Polygons” at Coagula Curatorial.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t know many artists that would say they have had a smooth road. In my case the work I make is very time-consuming. I plan each piece on paper, making a detailed collage/drawing of the final design. Because I make my pieces out of wood, it is preferable to make any changes while the piece is on paper. I have a woodshop where I then build the piece. I really enjoy this step, it involves a lot of problem-solving which is a challenge that I find very satisfying. I love the patterns in the wood grain so I often leave some parts of the piece unpainted. These areas need to be stained and the parts that will have oil paint need to be gessoed. It is only then that I can start the actual oil painting. My painting style is quite meticulous in terms of technique as well as composition. For this reason, it takes me about three years to put a solo show together. The year of a big show is always very exciting. I have something concrete that I am working towards. There is stress but it is the best kind of stress. Many artists are familiar with the low that happens after a show closes. This has been a struggle for me. The difficulty is to remain faithful that forward movement is good even if you don’t know where you are going. When I find myself asking too many unproductive questions I remind myself that in the end it is the thrill of creation that makes it all worthwhile. I have made something that was only an idea into a three-dimensional object that exists in the physical world. It is my thought and my hands and it conveys more then I am capable of in words. It is this process that keeps me going.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I have found a way to incorporate all the things that really inspire me into my current work: woodworking, oil painting and found parts from industrial age mechanical devices. The objects I use are always old and usually metal or wood. There is something very satisfying about giving new life to that which has been rendered useless or obsolete. I like to think of all the people who’s lives have intersected with these rusty old pieces. I wonder if some trace of them has been left upon the objects. By this logic these new pieces have within them old souls. This is comforting to me. I hope that others can sense this as well.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
My last show was inspired by this city. Los Angeles often feels like an endless sea of concrete, grids, boxes and parking lots. However, for a city that has been famous for being superficial it is actually anything but. The beauty of Los Angeles is most definitely below it’s concrete skin. Look a bit deeper and you will find the real beauty: The fire dancing flute player that lives in the building across the street. That warehouse where a group of bikers build beautiful one of a kind motorcycles alongside the circus troop practicing for their upcoming show. The unassuming time travel store that teaches kids creative writing. The tiny 1910 theatre housing the China-US collaborative panorama depicting the city of Shenyang from the years 1910 to 1930. There are also the many gems that may not be hidden but are equally as unexpected. The massive two floor used bookstore that opened downtown in 2005 when physical bookstores where dying every day. The place is packed daily with every type of person. People need art and creativity of all kinds The tide of corporate greed is not always in charge.
The surroundings may feel oppressive but man’s creativity can not be kept down. It will find a way. Like the vines that cover our chain link fences and the green that insists on pushing through the cracks in our pavement. Nature and human nature persists.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paintwood.com
- Email: alyson@paintwood.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/paintwoodsouza
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012646188765
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Episode 1 with Content Partner Lisa Taitelman, Founder of Hiking & Wellness company Find Your Trail.
