We’re looking forward to introducing you to Alli Gerrish. Check out our conversation below.
Alli, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
A beautiful question! Am I the author or the reader, the dancer or the choreographer? I think the beauty lies in the impossibility of knowing the answer. Life is an invisible play between planning and improvisation, between doing due diligence to stay on your path and also realizing things can be in process without you yet knowing. Time is not necessarily linear so I think it’s always good to sometimes try to loosen the reins a little bit. Make your plans and then let it go!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Alli Gerrish and I am a visual and voiceover artist living in Boulder, Colorado. My current ongoing series “The Weight is Over” continues my exploration of what I call “narrative abstractions”— a genre of visual storytelling that delves into the metamorphosis of life, and the emotions and complexities of being human. This work invites viewers to approach change with grace and humility, passing through life’s thresholds and embracing the unscripted transitions that define us. I believe strongly that art can function as a powerful reminder of life’s vulnerability, as well as a source of inspiration for how we might like to move forward in our future.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
An important conversation always happening in the arts involves finding ways to preserve connection with our greater good and with others. We need to be able to disagree and give voice to our differences, while continuing to celebrate individual freedom and expression. Feelings of betrayal and abandonment can discourage our ability to process and hear other points of view which leaves society and individuals feeling isolated. That tension of disparate ideas within the universal consciousness is critical to facilitate change.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I think to some degree all artists do that naturally when creating their work. That is the gift of art to both creator and viewer as it has been proven to help people process and heal from universal and personal trauma. Every personal experience is just a stepping stone into that universal consciousness we all share.
During Covid I began a series of digital “artimations” that was designed to give voice to this idea of collective pain. This digital exploration of sketches, paintings and video art were created to impact people in a positive way on their journey of exploring the energy of their circumstances, to heal hearts and minds and to share the idea that wisdom can come from adversity.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Growing up, I felt that the expected answer to this question was always an emphatic yes; authentic, honest and vulnerable being the gold standard of inner peace. And yet, as time goes on I have learned the value of keeping some personal ideas and dreams to yourself. They need time to evolve and grow in private, not subject to the whims and opinions of others viewing them solely through their own personal lens. If someone or something is making you feel lesser, all you need to do is turn inward. Find what makes you joyful and lean into that instead. People offering criticism and people offering praise are really just two sides of the same sword, neither will get you closer to your joy.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I believe I am doing what I was born to do. I have been making art since I was a child, but had misguided notions that it could not be a career or a way to make connections with a wider audience. I always understood its personal value to my own sanity and peace, but it is only in the last decade that I’ve come to recognize that the voice emerging through my art has the power not just to heal me, but to support others as well.
I come from a lineage of brilliant entrepreneurs and artists, one side of which made money and one side of which did not. Perceived notions around what it meant to be an artist have changed the paths for many people in my family and I feel like in some ways I am getting to put forward to the world what they never could.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alligerrish.com
- Instagram: @alligerrish
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/alli-gerrish
- Facebook: Alli Gerrish Studio
Image Credits
colbyevansphotography.com
wmartistservices.com
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