We were lucky to catch up with Alison Cordero recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alison, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My father is a carpenter – I guess that’s where I get it from, because if 5-6 years ago you had told me I’d be a woodworker I might have laughed in disbelief. But life works in funny ways. Growing up, my dad was always working on projects around the house, so I was familiar with a lot of the tools I use now. I’ve tried some power tools over the years but in passing. It wasn’t until I became curious about creating my own projects that I dove deep into the uses, technique, safety, and even the math of it all. The power saws, however, were something I’d never had my hands on and somewhat of a fear I had to get over.

When my parents purchased a new home that needed renovating, I took this as a learning opportunity to really get my hands dirty. I observed a lot and asked so many questions. While I must’ve frustrated my dad at times, we’ve come a long way from him trying to teach teenagers how to drive! 

That spring and summer I helped cut, glue, stain, paint, and nail any piece of drywall or wood I could get a chance at. I got to know the circular, miter, and table saws well – the saws I now use most. And I got over the fear of losing a finger – I will say there were a few close calls and I still make a few physically painful errors, but they are rare now. I’m still learning and finding new tools to make the process smoother and to bring new ideas to life.

Alison, 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?

I design and handcraft original pieces of wood art – wall art as well as various pieces of home décor. I’d been tinkering with ideas and the desire of putting together wood art in late 2019. I lost my office job in 2020, like so many others, and took the extra time I had and some of the money I saved up (wood is expensive) and applied them to learning and creating – I haven’t stopped since.

I get a lot of my inspiration from landscapes, indigenous patterns and textiles, nature, architecture, and even interior spaces. I can be in a restaurant and think about a design that would look cool in the space. I always sketch these ideas and they always change in the process of making it, but one of the biggest lessons I learned is to let it. I just throw on some music in the shop and let the ideas take me where they want me to go.

I love playing wood against different mediums. Currently my collections consist of all-wood designs as well as wood pieces fitted alongside plaster and mosaic mirror tiles – this makes for a fun experience.

My work is all about learning and allowing for progress, from my techniques to my designs – to my life personally – art really is such a vulnerable place and so rewarding. I share and sell my art online and in craft fairs and markets. Knowing that my art speaks to people is the best feeling, there doesn’t need to be a deep meaning there – I just love that it can provide a good feeling to someone else outside of myself. And for someone just looking for unique eye-catching bookends and board games, I’ve got that too.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Don’t put such a negative view on money. Money is what will keep art and artists and creatives growing – if you buy a handmade piece, you are giving the maker more of what they need to support themselves in a field that makes them happy. In return, they give that feeling to someone who is called to take home one of their creations. Money may not buy happiness all the time, but it helps. And when thinking about prices, remember that those prices cover the time and energy that was put into learning the craft that allowed for the time and energy to create the piece itself, as well as the tools worn out on each piece, and the many materials that go into every detail of the creation. Buy from creatives whose work resonates with you and if you don’t have the money to do so right now then share their name and their craft – that will keep them creating and inspiring other creatives.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Practice makes perfect. It doesn’t. And thank God! because that’s boring. Thinking about “imperfect” cuts or thinking about designs that didn’t turn out the way I initially imagined, have cost me too much time. If I was looking for perfection I’d never get anywhere. You aren’t going to love all your work. I still make pieces I’m not exactly happy with – I keep those to myself for now- and that’s okay. Practice will help you learn new methods, techniques, help create new ideas, but you are always going to make “mistakes” or pieces you don’t like, maybe less with more experience but they will still happen on occasion. That’s also the beauty of working with wood – wood itself has grains and knots, varying color and so much else that’s different in every cut and that imperfection is what makes every piece inevitably unique.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alisoncorderodesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoncodesigns/