Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allie Yacina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Allie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In 2021 I was selected to create a screen printed parks poster for the Portland Parks Foundation. This project has lead to so many opportunities for me – I seem to have found this niche of illustrated landscape posters. Since then I’ve worked on posters for the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge as well as Friends of the Columbia Gorge. How I landed this project involves a bit of backstory: years ago I signed up for an AIGA portfolio review with Elsa Lang from Always with Honor. She happened to be on the judging panel for the first ever PPF Posters for Portland Parks 20th anniversary initiative and suggested I apply. Elsa has been an amazing resource and supportive fellow creative in the community (Elsa and her husband Tyler run their creative studio Always with Honor and have since moved to Vermont). I was selected along with three other artists and chose Laurelhurst Park since it is the one I most often visit and live very close to. This project gave me so much confidence and exposure as a newbie artist in Portland. I remember working with Mullowney printing to develop a hand-painted screen print design. They were amazing to work with and even let me oversee the color mixing. I was extremely pleased to see Carson Ellis recently created a poster depicting Hoyt Arboretum for PPF. She is one of my creative heroes and to have my artwork next to hers in any capacity is a huge honor.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I kept my first sketchbook in fifth grade. I remember going to the school library and drawing the animals I saw in Zoobooks (alphabetically). That was when I was beginning to form my identity as an artist and was starting to take my relationship to creativity seriously – which sounds funny because I was literally 11. It’s a transformative time though because you’re starting to form your identity and for better or worse I clung to art and haven’t let go.
So now I call myself an artist which sounds cool but can mean so many things! In the traditional sense of the term I paint with gouache and depict mostly landscapes and modern still life imagery. However this isn’t how I fully financially support myself – I got my degree in graphic design from the University of Delaware and have used it to work full time for various industries including property development, beer, and mobile game software development.
I am a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator and designer. No matter the creative problem I am trying to solve, it can be moved through the same design-thinking process (research and ideation followed by a refinement process) supported by the elements of art and principles of design. I’ve made park posters, illustrations for mobile games, beer labels, fine art paintings, editorial illustrations – all of which I’m very proud of. I’m flexible and haven’t pigeon-holed myself. I’m 29 and I don’t think I should be wedging myself into one discipline yet – I’m way too curious for that. Plus all of the ways I express myself seem to inform each other.
For the past year or so I’ve been teaching a class at Ulna studio in Portland where I live. In my class Sketchbook Journey I guide students through the process of building a relationship with creativity starting with a sketchbook. It’s been extremely rewarding and informative for my own practice – I’d like to develop another class soon.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding thing about being an artist in Portland is a connection to the creative community. I’m not sure what it’s like in other cities but here the environment is so supportive and welcoming. People are so willing to share tips and resources and talk about lessons learned. I also find that Portlanders in general – at least the folks I interact with – are so down to spend money on arts and other crafts. Just having friends and supporters show up to an opening or event is so rewarding because you get that face to face interaction. Portland definitely shows up.
Another aspect I love about being creative is specifically related to painting – and that’s awareness. Keeping a painting practice has expanded my inner world and helped me gain an awareness about myself and the world around me. I love going on a walk with my partner (who also paints) because I look at everything like I’m going to paint it. It helps me stay in the present.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I want to expand a bit on my previous answer. While my experience of creative art communities in Portland has been very positive, that hasn’t been everyone’s experience. Portland is a very white city and it’s on the smaller side. I have friends who have expressed to me that it can feel isolating. Showing up and supporting artists of color feels like a priority. Regional Arts and Culture council has been providing some well deserved grants to BIPOC artists and some studios (Ulna and Radius) offer discounts for classes. I hope that local businesses and corporate entities (you know, the shoe people) prioritize diversity for commission opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.allieyacina.com/
- Instagram: @allie.yacina
Image Credits
Photos by Robert O’Neil and Ryan Warner