Today we’d like to introduce you to Alana Barrett.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Creating and making has always been an integral part of my life. My mother is a fashion-designer and artist, so she really encouraged me to create and play as I was growing up. I had such a love for the arts from a young age, and it seemed only natural for me to pursue a degree in Fine Arts while in college.
I just graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Studio Art. It was a wild time to graduate – as everyone knows who has graduated so far during the pandemic – and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I ended up signing up for an arts workshop online through the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, and my instructor Laura Shabott quickly scooped me up to help her teach other workshops and classes as an assistant and co-teacher. Laura is an amazing teacher, a spectacular artist (see her work at https://laurashabott.com/), and an unimaginably generous and nurturing person. She saw me – the young, confused, and lost artist – and instantly took on the role as a mentor for me. She and I now co-teach several art classes online through zoom, and it’s been such an amazing experience for me. I absolutely love teaching, and hope to teach at a college level one day while maintaining my own independent art practice.
When I’m not teaching, I’m busy making abstract paintings and sculptures. I am just sort of coming into my own and experimenting with all different ways of painting and playing with the canvas. I’m such a young artist that I haven’t locked into a particular style or method of painting yet, and honestly I don’t know if I ever want to. I think it’s important to allow yourself the freedom to keep growing and experimenting. Sometime in the next two years I plan to start applying to graduate school programs in painting or sculpture, as I want to expand my studies and expertise in those areas.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It certainly has not been a smooth road! I am so fortunate that I had the opportunity and ability to go to college right after high school, but I was so lost and confused that I was just a mess when I first started college. I honestly wish I had taken some time off and worked after high school to get my head on straight, but alas this was the path I took. I started out at a school in Los Angeles, and then I transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design where I really just fell apart emotionally. I was dealing with so much anxiety and depression that my family and I both decided I needed to come back home and be closer to my support system in South Florida. I ended up finishing a Studio Art degree at the University of Miami.
While I was at UM, I was able to focus on getting my mental and physical health to where it needed to be. To anyone reading this who is struggling with any sort of mental illness, let this be the extra push to go get the help you need if you are able to access it, whether it be therapy or psychiatry, medicine or cognitive behavioral treatments, there’s absolutely no shame and you deserve to be healthy and happy.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a multidisciplinary artist that works across a variety of two dimensional and three dimensional mediums, including paint, woodworking, electronics and fabrics. My work spans a variety of subject matter from robotic sculptures to hard-edged abstract paintings. All of my work, however, is united by playful spatial relationships, whimsical perspectives, and a curious nature and willingness to experiment.
I make art to experiment, play, and discover. My studio practice is process driven – in that I am more concerned with the process of discovering something new on the canvas than the end result. Teaching is also a large part of my practice, in that it helps me develop a sort of consciousness to the typically innate or intuitive decisions I make as I paint, thus empowering me to dive deeper, play harder, and take bolder risks as I work.
I’m currently teaching art courses on topics such as abstract art, Han’s Hofmann’s principle of “push/pull”, figurative expression, color theory, and more, at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, The Art Guild, and the Lighthouse ArtCenter. All of my classes can be found on my website.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was such a book-worm. I grew up outside of Boston until we moved to South Florida when I was 12. While we were still in Boston, my mother would take me to this huge beautiful library and I would check out 5-10 books every two weeks. I would go through them so fast! Looking back on it I have no idea how I had the patience to sit still and read that much, but I just had a ferocious appetite for stories and to dive into imaginary worlds. During recess I would often take my books outside with me and just sit and read, I so badly wanted to melt into the stories and leave the real world behind.
I was also completely obsessed with my CD’s and listening to music as I read. I have a very vivid memory of sneaking into my older brother’s room to steal his CD’s that were deemed too explicit for me to listen to. My personal favorite was stealing his Green Day “American Idiot” CD… that album completely rocked my 7 year old mind. I would listen to his punk and alt-rock albums as I read books, and I really just created my own universe for hours after school and on weekends.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alanacbarrett.com
- Email: alanacbarrett@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanacbarrett/
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