Original Interview with Polly Alice
If you could create any title for what you do during most days, what would it be?
Pushing the envelope— Mending
How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
I’m the type of person who slows down for wildflowers while driving; deep thinker, keen
observer lost in clouds or at the bottom of the ocean.
What is your best childhood memory?
Being outdoors picking berries or creating a fort,
reading ancient books in my grandma’s attic, thinking about dreams.
How would you describe your art or approach to creative living/working?
I like to make art about words and words about art. I’m often inspired by dreams. I named my studio New Thing Art Studio after I had a dream about an envelope with writing on the back. Since then I’ve had two different studio spaces in buildings that had focused on mail. To me, art is a message of love
sent out into the world. It’s fitting that my studio is in a former post office because my logo is a
stamp. Signed, sealed, delivered. Says something to me about the process of sending out art
into the world. The art needs to find a home somewhere.
How is your art a reflection of you?
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I can’t get away from it. I put all of myself into my art, yet at the same time, I’m always thinking of the viewer and what encouragement they might need or story they might like to add.
What project are you working on now that you are most excited about?
I’m returning to my#peacenotpieces series of ripped and torn natural fibers: sewn, stretched, sized, and painted in layers. The process of painting the work is one of stressing the oil paint to reveal its pigments. These flecks of color are the root or essence of minerals taken from the earth. This is done with mineral spirits made from Pine. The weathering effect creates negative spaces on the canvas
shaped like trees or roots. The visual of this natural process of pure mineral pigments give the
viewer a sense of grounding and rootedness.
What do you love most about the Art House community?
The amazing people and the work they do in the community for with and by art.
New Thing Art Studio. Pushing the Envelope on Modern Art with a Meditative Presence. Polly
Alice is a Kansas City artist and art catalyst, who has been an active part of the arts communities
in Harrisburg and the Twin Cities. She opened New Thing Art Studio in 2015 and was co-
creator of Paper Birch Landing Gallery. Polly’s paintings are oil or mixed media portraits, large-
scale NeoPop illustrations, and sewn meditations in textile collage. “I'm an artist who loves
words. I like to create my art to be more like poetry—to have symbolic meanings layered from
dream images and memories. You could say my work centers on the themes of healing, everyday journey, and women’s work.” Polly’s first book, Kinlight, was published in 2017, and her art was recently featured in Edge of Faith magazine.
Polly’s favorite thing is to tell stories, other people's, her own-- maybe yours.
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