artist statement

I create magic on a sewing machine. Using enormous amounts of thread I construct and deconstruct visual narratives to mend together my past with the present into different scaled vignettes about: change, mistakes, 6801, eating elmer’s paste, the green electrical box, school, growing up, being a mom, making more mistakes, painting in the land of maize and blue, being a woman, boobs, france, italy, ireland, japan, abusing commas, avoiding being an artist, marriage, children, more change, living in ann arbor, chicago, and pittsburgh, making enormous mistakes, teaching art, adventures in dumpsters, going back to school, never running a triathlon, eating great food, creating, not creating, laughing, technology, societal pressures, aging, playing hard, the big kahuna mistake, courage, my move to oklahoma, and my current residence, las vegas.

bio

Lisa Jean Allswede is a Las Vegas, Nevada-based artist embracing the chaos of time, memory, and identity with her sewing machine. This adventurous sewing machine knows no bounds: it has traveled with Allswede throughout her nomadic life from her home state of Michigan to Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma City – and now to her current residence in Sin City.
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Allswede received her BFA in painting from the University of Michigan and went on to earn her M.Ed in Art Education from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the founder of The Project Box, an art gallery and community creative space in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District. Her work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions across the United States.