Daily Inspiration: Meet Destiny Allison

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Destiny Allison.

Hi Destiny, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Originally trained to be a writer, I have always been compelled to create. I started sculpting during a moment of writer’s block when I was at home with three toddlers. They had left some non-hardening clay on my desk and I started playing with it. A few hours later, with the rough shape of a pregnant woman in front of me, I fell in love.

Sculpture consumed me, but I had no money and very little support so I pushed as hard as I could with the media and tools available to me. After some time, I enrolled in a foundry class at the Massachusetts College of Art. Bronze casting opened a whole new world to me and, desperate to do more, I haunted a local foundry (New England Sculpture Service) until the owner offered me an apprenticeship.

From there, I catapulted into teaching adult sculpture at the Attleboro Museum. This is where I refined my language of sculpture. I started to make a little money through a gallery in Maine. That, and my teaching compensation, helped support my passion and I began to work bigger and explore different media.

A few years later, recently divorced and with full custody of my three sons, I moved back to New Mexico. I worked part-time for a nonprofit that provided childcare and continued sculpting in all my free time. I taught classes at Santa Fe Clay, took on an apprentice of my own, and showed work at a variety of galleries.

Sales were hit and miss for a long time until finally after 9/11 cost me my job, I decided to take the plunge and go full-time as an artist. Since then, I’ve been privileged to have won numerous awards, been represented by top galleries, participated in museum shows, and had my work acquired by civic and corporate organizations around the world.

In 2009, my husband and I purchased an unfinished shopping center and I scaled back on sculpture while we got that off the ground. This endeavor also became a labor of love. The center was based around three words — connection, convenience, and enrichment.

We were focused on giving back to the community in meaningful ways. As a result of this endeavor, I was named Santa Fe Business Woman of the Year and later, in response to our efforts during the pandemic, was named one of Ten Who Made a Difference by the Santa Fe New Mexican.

After an injury to my back, I had to reimagine my life because doctors told me that if I didn’t get spinal fusion I would never be able to sculpt again. I packed up my studio, opened a boutique, and started writing. I have four books out, two of which are award winners.

Like many, the pandemic turned my life upside down again. For years, the phone rang and the emails came in with people asking for commissions and photos of available work. I had been turning them away, but when the call came in during the first summer of the pandemic, I said yes to the commission. I don’t even know why, but I told my clients that it might take me six months and they were fine with that so I reconstituted a small studio at my house and started sculpting again.

Surprisingly, my back (though often sore) didn’t interfere with my work and I was able to build a new body of work. I sought representation and achieved it, but realized that I didn’t want to be chained to production so I pulled the work out and started playing. I built chairs and some much larger work, and then, because it’s nontoxic and doesn’t hurt, I started painting. What a joy to be a beginner again!!!

Now, today, I am represented by just one gallery, San Francisco Street Gallery, in Santa Fe. The owner understands that I want to make the work that brings me the greatest joy and he encourages me to pursue the painting in addition to the sculptures I provide to him.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Is any road ever smooth for long? There have been lots of struggles. When I went full-time with my art I applied (and was fortunately accepted) to high-end art fairs. The first one I did cost me every dime I had and I wouldn’t have been able to feed my kids or pay my mortgage if I wasn’t successful.

Of course, the toll on my body has been profound and I suffer from osteoarthritis in all my joints from the years of heavy metal work. There have been unethical galleries, difficult clients, and moments of great fear, but I figure all of this is par for the course and that I have been blessed to have lived a life doing what I love.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I chose the other because my life is not linear. I am deeply proud of the art I’ve produced, the books I’ve written, and the businesses I’ve built. I think what sets me apart is my personal philosophy. I don’t think we can control much in this world. I could get hit by a bus. Though not likely, my husband could fall out of love with me.

Pandemics, recessions, inflation, and a zillion other external events can wreak havoc at any moment. The only thing I do control is what I give — first to myself, then to my family, and finally to my community. That has been the constant in my life and it is what separates me from many of my peers. Everything I do in business, writing, art, and life touches upon and is inspired by what I can give.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Covid reminded me that life is short, that I am first and foremost a creative, and that I spent a lot of years giving to others before I gave to myself. I have closed or sold most of my businesses.

My husband and I started raising our own food (gardens, greenhouse, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pigs) because we were worried about the supply chain and the quality of the food we consume. These days, I spend my time gardening and making art. Every day is a challenge and has its own reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: DestinyAllison.com

Image Credits
Bill Stengel