You cannot just label Alyson Fox. She is involved with so many things, that I practically lost counting. Is she a photographer? An artist? A designer? No one will ever tell, simply because Alyson must have two pairs of hands just as goddess Kali. Therefore in the following interview you will not learn what Alyson is, but what Alyson does. From clothing and furniture design and dinnerware to photography, textiles and painting, this peaceful, but yet restless mind, tends to stretch out the boundaries of creativity.She claims that ideas strike her any time and place and among her greater inspirations are simplicity and her husband.
Yes,I have fond memories of creating small art shows behind my bed that I'd invite people to come and see. My mom said that once, when I was two, she found me in the closet drawing on the wall with her make-up pencils. From that day on she made a point to keep our art supplies well stocked. When I turned nine I got a pretty wood easel that I loved. Once I got into middle school I quit drawing as much, but then re-discoverd it when I was a sophomore in college.
We live right outside Austin in a little town called Spicewood in the Hill Country. I tend to have a very overactive mind so I think the quiet helps my overall well being and fuels my curiosity. I love to stare out into the distance from our kitchen and just ride an idea for a while.
No clue. I take them whenever I can get them. Often times they are when I have nothing to write with so I sketch it out on with my hands in the air, in hopes that it'll help me remember it. I have ugly chicken scratch notes piled high on my desk rather than pretty notebooks.
My husband, food, Wes Anderson, empty spaces, functionality, Rachel Whiteread, Agnes Martin, simplicity, Donal Judd, Malala Yousafzai, sounds, colour, negative space, communication, honesty... to name a few.
Navy and black.
Oh yes. I tend to over complicate things internally, so I strive for simplicity externally.That's the goal at least. Our house is pretty minimal and I am launching a clothing line this summer that is very simplistic. It's inspired by Charlotte Perriand's modular wardrobe concept. It consists of a few garments that can be mixed and matched with each other.
It's all the same process to me. I am grateful to be able to work on a variety of things.
Not yet. I am happiest when I am working on a few ideas at once even if there is no end goal for some of them. They all inform each other and seem like one medium to me.
I am working on a few goodies with Hawkins New York that are multi-use that I am really excited about. Also, I've just started collaborating with Leigh Patterson on a small publication of images and text. I love page layouts and am really excited about having a collection of thoughts, illustrations and photography, and it's so fun to collaborate with someone like Leigh where you can build on each others ideas.
I have a couple of bigger concepts that have been brewing for a while, who knows if they'll ever make it out into the world. I start little experiments all the time that don't go very far, but I'm always learning from them. Sometimes ideas transform into something else along the way. Like I said, the process is one continual ongoing project for me, so even the things that seem like a dead end are important.
Stay present.