About Me:
As an artist and writer, I am a storyteller of the overlooked – transforming forgotten materials and marginal moments into vibrant narratives of unexpected beauty.
My creative practice spans a diverse range of media, from painting and printmaking to embroidery and weaving, each technique a unique language for exploring the genuine and the absurd.
I am drawn to materials with previous lives, finding my muse and creative collaborators in discarded cross-stitches, vintage handkerchiefs, and fragments of ephemera. My work is an invitation to look closer, to find humor and wonder in the overlooked and mundane.
My work been exhibited around the United States, and held in private collections around the world.
➡️ Here’s my current Artist Statement
➡️ Here’s my CV.
[Some] of the Things I’ve Done for Love and Money:
Created art work and art objects in private collections and for exhibitions. (Here’s some information about my solo show at the New York Public Library during the summer 2022.)
Authored deeply-researched nonfiction packed with quirky and not-easily-surfaced information, which one recent editor deemed “delightfully weird.” (More about my writing life, which both prefaced and runs along alongside my art life.)
Designed and delivered educational experiences that deliver on their pedagogical goals while serving up a lot of fun, and, when possible, chocolate. (More about my teaching practice.)
Some Places Where I’ve Done My Thing:
Artspace 1241 Gallery in Philadelphia, ACPHS (faculty), Association of Writers & Writing Programs (speaker), The Atlantic, BBC Travel, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Experience, Fast Company, Glamour, Gotham Writers’ Workshop (faculty), Inc., Ladies’ Home Journal, Men's Journal, The Millions, Mother Jones, National Press Foundation (fellow), New York Magazine, New York Times Foundation (fellow), Psychology Today, Reason, Robb Report, SagaCity Media, Skillshare (teacher), The Smart Set, The Toronto Star, The Travel Channel's World Hum, The Washington Post, The Well in Brooklyn (faculty), Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, Worth Magazine, Yankee, Yoga Journal … among other places.
If you want to talk with me about purchasing or showing my art, or another project, do get in touch! My email address is alison at verycuriousmind.com
Personally Speaking:
I live in Carnegie, Pennsylvania — that’s the Pittsburgh metro area — with my little family, pictured here. From the left, there’s Ed, me, propping up Maggie-the-dog’s head for the camera. I love this photo because it was taken just after we signed Maggie’s adoption papers! Finn, inset, wasn’t even born yet at the time this photo was taken. He joined us in 2022.
People often ask me how they get along, so I’m also providing some photographic proof of their (mostly) good relationship below. ;) In a nutshell, they are siblings. They love each other and hate each other, sometimes in the same fifteen minutes.
I was born and raised in Manhattan, and spent most of my adult life there. I realize it’s a little obnoxious to say so, but I am back and forth to my ancestral homeland more than is reasonable. (“She divides her time between NYC and Pittsburgh” is the posh way to say it.) I have a B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York, College at Cortland.
I’m passionate about politics (liberal), great food, adventures near and far, and collecting weird/ quirky vintage books and objects.
I’m also very interested in; advocacy for rescue animals, especially Pit Bull-type dogs, ending body-size discrimination for humans, and artistic/journalistic freedom. And oh yeah, preserving democracy.
