Some Type of Woman: Alison Evans of @artsyalisondesigns
Alison Evans, also known as @artsyalisondesigns on Instagram, serves up positive, uplifting art with a side of feminism and pop culture. The main focus of her work is based on her own personal experiences with mental health, feminism and being raised by the television screen. You can find Alison's work for purchase on Etsy and Redbubble.
I took the opportunity to send over a few questions to Alison, for her speak on her insights and experiences as a creative.
WoT: Name 1 or 2 creatives that inspire you. What about their work breathes inspiration into you?
AE: Lisa Quine really inspires me because her designs are so intricate and vintage. You can always tell which designs are hers based on her aesthetic. She really makes me want to work more on line art! Roxy and Phoebe over at Pandr Design Co. also make me really want to jump into the world of mural art.
Their designs are as fun and dynamic as they are as people and I really appreciate their openness about their process and willingness to help other creatives stand up for themselves in regards to contract terms and pricing. I think following creatives who have different strengths than you is great because it broadens your notion of what art can be and can inspire you to try new things.
Give a short and sweet piece of advice or knowledge that you wish you had when you first started your creative journey1 response
Practice makes progress! No one is an expert at first - keep trying!
What was the most recent low point in your creative career? How did you overcome it?
I recently had a major case of creative block. I'm still working through it, to be honest. When I feel less than inspired, giving myself a break really helps. It gives me time to decompress and also allows me to think of ideas I could use later. I usually will write ideas down in a notebook of either quotes or concepts of illustrations and then come back to them when I feel like I am in a more productive and creative headspace. I don't think we as creatives allow ourselves to take those breaks as much as we need to because there's pressure to keep producing and making new content, but I notice that when I slow down and really take a step back, it helps my creative flow and my mental health.
What do you do to stay creatively motivated?
My own experiences inform the ideas I come up with for my designs. I feel like when I'm going through tough in my life or when I have struggles, that's when I come up with some of my best work. I feel a bit like I have Taylor Swift syndrome in that way (no hate to Taylor because I LOVE her). But when I'm feeling good and don't have any ideas for designs or illustrations, I typically look to other illustrators'/designers' work to see what trends (quotes vs. complicated illustration pieces) are in or what colors are being used that I can draw off of to get inspiration that way.
Holidays are a big motivator as well - I love Valentine's Day and usually start making designs for that starting in November or December (because Christmas is not my favorite holiday to make illustrations for). I'd say that having a bank of ideas is probably the key to my creative motivation. I have a log of notes that I keep in my phone for when I get sudden bursts of inspiration and look that that time to time to see if anything jumps out at me.
Some things that may not have resonated with me in the past might spark something in me creatively now and I use that as a starting point a lot of the time.
Is there a single piece or collection in your portfolio that you’re particularly proud of?
I am really proud of my latest Galentine's Day collection because it combines all of the things that I'm passionate about - women empowerment and friendship, pop culture references, and stylized designs. It came together really well and it's probably the most cohesive collection I have made thus far in my art career.
What's next for you in your career?
I just started my journey as an Etsy seller and plan on continue with that and start selling more products soon!
