Author: Bessesdotter

Alison Bessesdotter is an artistic autodidact and intuitive artist. Born a Bucks County artist, Alison grew up along the banks of the Delaware River in rural Pennsylvania. As a child she developed a lifelong interest in the meticulous observation of nature which continues to inspire her artwork. She is respectful of tradition but works with an iconoclastic streak experimenting with various mediums. Her works have been described in the press as “improvisational: worlds of magic, euphoria and enchantment.” Currently, Alison maintains a studio in Reigate where she founded Bell Street Artists in 2021. Bessesdotter also has over a decade of expert experience in selecting and hanging over a dozen exhibitions annually for other artists and groups. Until 2019 Bessesdotter was a Resident Artist for 7 years at the Banana Factory, a community arts centre in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Alison served as a Visual Arts Board member of ArtsQuest and was on the Music Committee. Alison was the administrator of a Livestrong grant to bring art classes to people with cancer living in the local community. Alison managed The Bessesdotter Verksted from 2010-2013. She performed tasks such as curator, membership coordinator, publicity chair and juror for regional art organisations including The Salemme Foundation and The Allentown Art Museum. Prior to this Alison maintained a studio at home and was a member of the Spirit Square printmaking cooperative studying lithography with Tamarind Printmakers. Bessesdotter holds a Degree in Technology and Computer Science. Bessesdotter has received the ArtPop Billboard Award in 2018, a LiveStrong Grant in 2014-2015, the Pittsburgh Watercolour Painting Prize 2013 and Lehigh Art Alliance Prize 2011 and 2012. Alison’s artworks are in private and corporate collections.
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Listen to my interview on Musings

WDIY Kenn Michael interviewed me for Musings about my current exhibit, FLOW at the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, PA. Talking with Kenn about the work and hearing his observations was a wonderful experience.

Listen to the interview here.

Host Kenn Michael speaks with Alison Bessesdotter about her exhibit “Flow” at The Nurture Nature Center, 518 Northampton St., Easton, showing through October 1st 2013.  “Flow” The flow of water, of life: the constant movement of all things organic. The drip, the run; erosion.  These ideas are to be accentuated and enhanced by the artist’s stylistic transition from watercolor to throughout the course of the exhibition.

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Some new work to be unveiled

New paintings

The last few weeks I have been working incredibly long hours and the work is ready to go on display. Some watercolors and acrylics are to be on display at the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, Pa starting on Thursday July 18th, 6-9 pm. The exhibit will run through the end of September.

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4th of July Galeton, PA

Black Star Spell #3Celebration of the 4th – this was painted from a memory of past holidays spent on the lake in Galeton, PA. The town has one of the best firework displays every year. We would sit on blankets lakeside in the dark and find ourselves dotted with ashes when the show was over. Yes – we were that close. The view was spectacular, ink black mountains posed against the smokey twilit sky, the fireworks extensive and bold, reflected in the dark still water of the cold mountain lake. Wherever you celebrate enjoy the splendor of the summer. To my Banana Factory friends and colleagues have a safe and wonderful holiday under the stars!

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Tool Boy and Me

Alison Bessesdotter and Tool Boy

The May 2013 Lehigh Valley Style Magazine features me and Tool Boy, a studio art quilt I created last year. Tool Boy is one of the first in a series of studio quilts I call Frankenquilts. Read more…

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Art on Molovinsky’s Blog

Alison BessesdotterMichael Molovinsky’s Blog about Allentown  featured my art today on his blog. Thanks Michael Molovinsky – its always nice to have people appreciate what I create.

Read more…

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Detour!!

Immediate attention – I am moving the Bessesdotter Verksted in Allentown PA to the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA. I am busy cleaning, packing, lamenting on less time for making art, but overjoyed to have a new space in a vibrant community.  No pics of my personal space yet, but here are some shots of the outside of the building – in the event you are going to be able to make it to First Friday May 3rd the address is 25 W 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA. Hope to see you there!imagesimages
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Sigal Museum and Art Quilts

Sunday September 23rd was a gorgeous autumn day in Easton. The River Arts Festival at the Forks of the Delaware hosted the Philadelphia Funk Authority. The Sigal Museum has a quilt exhibit and it was my privilege to give a talk on Art Quilting: Stitches in Time, Then and Now.
The Sigal Museum is a great resource with a collection of local artifacts and historical objects located at 344 Northampton Street in Easton, PA. Barb Kowitz is enthusiastic as director and is accompanied by a staff that is friendly and knowledgeable. Currently, they have an exhibit of quilts called Stitches in Time. Barb invited me to talk about my art quilts including my FrankenQuilt series. I work in several different mediums, art quilting represents approximately half of my work. Art quilting allows me the freedom to find a different voice as an artist. Most of my art quilts are whimsical and derived from dreams and fairytales.
It was a pleasure to address an enthusiastic and attentive audience and discuss my work in the context of the history of American quilting. The exhibit provided a dynamic space to contrast contemporary art quilting against charming traditional quilts. Art Quilts represent a way for us to push forward with fabric, thread and stitching; yet honor those who worked to create practical objects that had rich tradition of being decorative using precious fabric. Another highlight of the day for me was to introduce my mother Bess and her influence in the sewing process. Among friends in the audience: art curator Lee Allison Vedder, Barbara Vedder, jewelry artist Susan Weaver, mixed media artist E. A. Kafkalas, and a rare appearance by artist, N. “Slope Eye” Carmichael.
Another point of interest, is the Martha Salemme exhibit also located on the second floor. The exhibit was made possible by the Salemme Foundation, directed by my friend and fellow artist Joe Skrapits of Allentown, PA. Martha’s work is primarily watercolors; landscape and still life, but there are a few pencil sketches and should not be missed. Some pieces in the collection can be purchased and are well worth collecting. Martha’s work fits nicely into the context of the Easton arts scene as she and her husband and fellow artist Antonio Salemme were residents of Williams Township. Other fabric arts were on display at the River Arts Festival, where quite a few tents were setup by local artists, including painters, ceramic, and glass.
My mother, her friend Jeanne and I had a late supper at Sette Luna on 2nd Street in Easton. As always, the food was superb and the espresso and dessert rounded off a lovely day.

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Ete

Off to paint in my Secret Garden.

Secret Garden
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Art for Self

The Shell
If you do not answer the noise and urgency of your gifts they will turn on you. Or drag you down  with their immense sadness at being abandoned.  Joy Harjo

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Free Labor?

Hands in Cave

A few days ago, artist Gregory Coates shared a wall post on Facebook by Takos Boikat about how artists should be paid. I shared it out on Facebook– and of course I champion the cause. I saw a few reactions to it on Facebook from artists about working for free–how often they are asked to do something in the name of getting exposure, or a famous artist/person will bestow a favor later. Often later never comes around, or the exposure turns out to be little if anything that really drives a career. I have had fellow artists ask me to help them find artists to work for free for them—or work for sub-standard wages. And sadly, I cannot count the number of fellow artists who tell me they work for very little or free.

Gregory’s post is very timely. A society must value the sensitive creative people in the culture—the ones who create are the ones with the ideas, the real drivers of culture and how the future will play out rests on the shoulders of the artists. It is a heavy burden. Risk takers, inventors, social engineers, visionaries, and the creators, this is what makes us extraordinary. Not always knowing the outcome of what we do, we take up the challenge and forge new paths, new ways of seeing, hearing and feeling. 

The caves show work thousands of years old—the work of artists. There are arguments that the work might be spiritual—but we cannot know if the paintings were done for pure joy or for shamanic purposes. Whatever purpose the painters had no longer matters, what does matter is that they left images for everyone to see. Artists matter to society–lets reward them for their labor.