Interview with Santa Fe Artist Destiny Allison
Destiny lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she's a full-time artist as well as the managing partner of La Tienda at Eldorado, a commercial complex, community center, and arts center. Her focus over the last twenty years has primarily been sculpture, although her first love was writing. (She published several poems as a child.) She recently published her autobiography, Shaping Destiny: A Quest for Meaning in Art and Life.
I asked Destiny a few questions about her artistic journey. No matter what kind of creative dreams you have, I think you'll find her answers very illuminating!
Michelle: Tell me a little about your first experiences with Plasticine clay. What made you first pick it up? What made you continue?
Destiny: The clay belonged to my children. They had left it on my desk earlier in the day. I had been trying to write about an image in my mind of a pregnant woman but I was blocked. The clay provided an immediate, instantly gratifying outlet for my frustration. I continued with it over the next several years because the tactile, physical process of sculpting was so rewarding and it was a creative pursuit that didn’t conflict with my responsibilities as a mother. I could work with the clay anywhere and a small box with my sculpting tools and current project accompanied me just about everywhere.
Michelle: Why did you decide that working in a foundry would be your next step? Can you tell me a little about that transition?
Destiny: I couldn’t afford to cast the work I was doing into a permanent medium. Though it is not in the book, I took a foundry class at the Massachusetts College of Art in order to be able to take advantage of their facilities. I fell in love with casting and after the class was over, I haunted a new foundry in the Boston area until finally, out of pity I think, the owner took me on as an apprentice. I traded work for casting and learned more than I ever would have had I decided to go to school for my craft.
Michelle: In your book, you write that "an artistic block is a gift." What do you mean by that? Do you have any advice for artists who feel blocked?
Destiny: As I explain in the book, a block is the moment when what you think you know and what you are being taught come to a head. This is an incredible opportunity to step back and really listen to what the work is trying to tell you. Maybe it’s your subconscious. Maybe it’s divine inspiration. Regardless, the art teaches us as much as we shape it.
When artists ask me about overcoming blocks, I encourage them to set the work aside and do something equally creative, but different. For some, journaling about the block is helpful. For others, it might be working in the garden. Usually, when something is really bothering you in a piece, it is not what you think is the problem. Look above, below, or to the side of the area that is troubling you. Then, if you give yourself a little bit of time and a break from the work, you will typically find what isn’t working.
Michelle: You've arranged your book with a lesson at the beginning of each chapter. Why did you decide to do that?
Destiny: The lessons are both literal and metaphorical and can be applied to both art and life. I wanted to demonstrate how my art mirrored my life, even as it informed and shaped it. I also wanted to include the “wise woman” voice. I think we all have a rational part of us and an emotional part. We also have a part that guides us if we take the time to listen to ourselves. I wanted readers to hear all three of my voices so they might be inspired to allow all of the same parts of themselves to surface.
Michelle: Adding color to metal is very popular in jewelry now. Can you briefly share any favorite tips you've learned from your own work painting steel?
Destiny: I actually seldom paint my steel works. I use acids and heat to control the oxidation of the metal and achieve my colors. When I first started doing patinas on steel, everyone I talked with told me it couldn’t be done. It can. I figured it out by not being afraid to experiment with everything from household bleach to urine, as well as with chemicals I had used when I was working in bronze. Hot patinas are more interesting to me than cold patinas and you can get incredible surface texture and depth with them.
For jewelers, I might suggest putting the metal pieces in an oven at various temperatures and then, using a small paint brush, apply different acids to them while they are still hot. Don’t use a very wet brush. The less moisture there is on the brush, the more interesting the patina will be. If you are looking to combine acids and create more texture and depth, put the pieces back in the oven before each layer. Then wax the finished piece with a clear, wood paste wax or spray them with a polyurethane to achieve the desired satin or glossy finish.
Book Review
I previewed a copy of Destiny Allison's autobiography, Shaping Destiny. I'm always interested in hearing how other people became artists, since it's not usually the type of career choice that is discussed on "Career Day" in high school. Destiny did not attend art school or take art lessons, so her insights are practical, rather than theoretical.
The book follows Destiny's journey as an artist, beginning with some
simple clay pieces at home to having her sculptures placed in art
galleries. It's a highly personal account, showing how the often
difficult events in her life as a wife, mother, daughter, and sister
impacted her growth as an artist and inspired specific works.
Each chapter begins with a brief lesson that encapsulates a little wisdom about art and life. I found the lessons highly reassuring. Artists can feel isolated, so it's always comforting when another speaks a truth that you've subconsciously known, but hadn't articulated before.
Here's an example: "We must choose a subject that matters to us, a subject that we care about on an intensely personal level. We cannot copy someone else's concept or borrow an emotion." For me, this succinctly captures why copycat work always brings such an emotional response. You might think you're just mechanically copying a finished product, but you're really copying the very essence of a person. You're stealing a little bit of his or her soul.
This autobiography feels very raw in places—not in an unfinished way, but in an emotional one. Destiny freely shares the kind of intimate details of her personal life that you might normally expect to hear only from a very close friend. This is a no-holds-barred kind of book about family, sex, marriage, faith, emotions, art, and relationships. Destiny writes, "I don't seem to be capable of a quiet life." In addition to her own experience, she also shares insights from a few of her art students.
Visit Destiny's blog to learn more about her journey, plus read her own interviews with other creative women. You can buy her book on her website or on Amazon.