We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Allison. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.
Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I knew as a child (I would say as early as 4 or 5) that I would either be an artist or a dancer. I loved coloring, drawing houses, anything to do with art. I was influenced by my mother and father. My dad was studying to be an architect before I came a long (or when I was a baby) and stopped school in order to work like three jobs to support his family. But he always drew houses and my mom drew portraits. I coveted her sketch pad that had a portrait of my father in it. It fascinated me. My mom was even commissioned by my babysitter’s father to draw a famous western gentlemen from the 1800s.
Melanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Melanie Allison. I have been an artist all my life but have yet to go professional with it. It’s always been a hobby or side gig in addition to my 9-5 job and other projects. I thrived in middle school art class and was then in Advanced Placement art in high school which gave me college credits. It also disciplined me to curate a concentration of one subject for the school year to submit for review. My first year, I did a concentration of shoes – so all of my work was in different mediums with the subject matter of shoes. My work was photographed, put on slides and submitted. The following year, my concentration was glass bottles. This was fun and challenging with the light and distortion that glass creates. From there, I earned my BFA at The University of Texas at Arlington in 2003. In college, I initially wanted to be an art history professor, but that soon changed to photography, then lastly I settled on graphic design. It was when the Apple G4’s came out so my instructors were just as a green as I was with technology. I taught myself how to use Illustrator. After I graduated, I moved to Austin with my boyfriend and started creating the company newsletter and other sales materials for the job I was working at at the time. From there, I moved on to other jobs that were in the marketing field where I started using InDesign and designed the company newsletter, other graphic design related projects and event planning. On the side, I painted, did collage/mixed media and sold antiques as well for 8 years in my Etsy shop Rare Bird Boutique. I hosted markets with other vendors at my house, sold my work and antiques at local boutiques and at shows. Currently, I’m a Communications Specialist where I create sales promotional flyers, company one-pagers, the sales field e-newsletter, online articles, some event planning, and more. On the side, as of last year, I created my own online gallery of my mixed media work for sale. I also officially went public with my women’s network group Girl Flock Party. It is an off shoot of my gallery where we network, support local woman owned businesses (such as myself), create brand awareness, and encourage female empowerment. It started as a private dinner in 2019 with my many different friend groups and gave away prizes from my friends that also owned businesses. Since then, it has morphed into a boutique (small & specific) women’s network open to the public in the Austin area. We host mini events, have a Facebook group, fundraise, have giveaways, and host our big annual event in the spring for all women (business owners or not) to just have fun and network. It’s a celebration of female friendship that fosters collaborations and creates brand awareness for our sponsors.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is having the freedom to express yourself and to be inspired. Creativity and art doesn’t always come to everybody, so I feel blessed that I was chosen to have this creative gift. It is a beautiful outlet to put down on canvas or paper your thoughts, your views, and your feelings. Plus you get to experiment and have fun. For me it’s the way I can let my two different personalities shine. My happy, fun side that is inspired by color and fashion. And then there’s my edgy, spiritual, moody side that is dark and sensual. I love animals, fashion, hidden meanings, metallics, black, skulls… you will see all of these things in my work.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
For sure! So my Instagram for my art and other creative projects is @melanieallisongallery. There I started following local artists and photographers. It is what kick started my modeling career again but at 38. I wanted to break the stigma that models have to be tall, young, and thin. As a “classic” model, I had the opportunity to show that you can still work in this industry at a later time in your life and still have something to contribute. By reaching out to local photographers, I created a small network that built friendships and partnerships that turned into new opportunities. I landed my first cover for an independent magazine and from there my portfolio and experience grew. My work was being featured in indie mags all over the country and world, online and in print. Social media helped me learn about local projects and casting calls where I continued to learn so much more. I also faced rejection and internet trolls, but that only empowered me to start my own indie magazine called BEVIE. With BEVIE, I made my magazine more approachable, helped others get their start and offered exciting and fun themes for creatives (makeup artists, photographers, models, stylists, etc,) to submit and showcase their work to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
melanieallisongallery.com/ - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ melanieallisongallery/ - Facebook: https://facebook.
com/OfficialMelanieAllison - Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/melanie- allison-6a24408a - Twitter: rarebirdmelanie
- Other: https://www.instagram.
com/girlflockparty/ - https://www.
melanieallisongallery.com/ girlflockparty - https://facebook.com/groups/
girlflockparty
Image Credits
Art photos: Kat Day Gomez Headshots: Creative Forces Design Company