Artist Spotlight: AlexMakesArt
Artist Spotlight: AlexMakesArt
Meet Alexandra Adamo, aka AlexMakesArt, a mixed media artist and leader in creative experiences. Alex was 18th Recipient of the Lead Artist position at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's Community Art's Initiative for 2022-23. Alex's latest project, titled: "From Farm to Craft Table", invited children from twelve Boston-area community organizations to learn about the wonders of wool. You can visit her exhibit through October 22, 2023, in the Linde Family Wing!
Minni is so thrilled to be collaborating with Alex on an upcoming Tween Felting Workshop where artists ages 8 to 12 are invited to create their own fun felted art pieces! Join us for an evening of fun and cozy crafting. No felting experience necessary!
With our upcoming workshop on the horizon, we wanted to introduce our Minni community to Alex, the amazing things she does, and share some interesting facts! We hope you will read on to learn more about Alex, or come meet in person at our Minni Felting Workshop for Tweens on Thursday, October 12 from 6–8pm.
What inspired you to create AlexMakesArt?
“Alex Makes Art” felt like the most sing-songy way to encapsulate me, Alex, and my lifestyle. Making in any medium is what you’ll always find me doing. Living artfully has always felt natural, and empowering others to live creatively comes along with the mark I’m looking to make on the world. The inspiration was just taking the facts and turning it into the brand.
My hope and dream is to be hanging from a cherry picker with a paint brush in hand in a neighborhood and have folks look up and scream, “there’s Alex Makes Art!”.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Insatiable. Zippy. Ambivert.
An insatiably-zippy-ambivert, if you will.
Was there ever a moment when you were stuck creatively? How'd you work through that?
Constantly. Creative flow feels like riding a rollercoaster, where there are peaks of inspiration and making, and valleys of self-doubt and reevaluation. When I’m stuck - in the valley, I allow my brain to get stimulated. Soaking in films, clutter-filled shops (love a good second hand shop and dollar store), or starting an organizing project follow. I visit galleries or museums during the rut, make plans with creatives, and stew. Eventually, a switch hits, I crave the “making”, and getting pulled back to center.
Knowing that this ebb and flow is a part of what I’ve signed on for helps, and being able to reach out to other makers who deal with this pattern of being stuck reminds my psyche that this is how we operate. I give myself grace and have to be trusting of the ride.
Do you have a favorite project of yours?
At the moment, I could look at the fibercracker wall on display all day. I set out to make a textured wallpaper, using my bunny’s wool and scrap roving, that screamed “touch me” and that’s exactly what it does. I’m riding that wave of serenity for a bit while I wait for my next beloved brain child.
What's next for AlexMakesArt?
Murals! I’m craving space making and am looking to fill up as many areas with intentional bouts of color and design as possible. I’ve got a ceiling mural that my pal Kit Collins and I will be working on this Summer for HarborCOV, a Domestic Abuse Shelter in Chelsea, up next. After that, we’ll be working on a community mural for North Cambridge with hundreds of kiddos at the old school I used to teach at. Some big community crafting circles on deck for the Fall, then a month long sabbatical in Austin, Texas. My home away from home and happy place.
What made you want to collaborate with Minni?
Minni has a wonderful aesthetic and a connection to a part of Boston that I’ve always been in-tune with. During my time at the Museum, I was looking for sustainable ways to acquire fibers. Kelly Harris Smith was breaking down a phenomenal installation she had on display in Philadelphia and was looking to keep the materials in circulation. A mutual friend of ours put us in touch and I realized that in addition to owning Minni.Space, she had a design background and created incredible installations! The colors Kelly was parting ways with were just what I was looking for to complete my vision for my “Dreamscape”, and am honored to say that was our first way of collaborating. Now that the installation is live at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, it felt like the perfect time to bring some of the techniques to her studio space and community.
Which other artists do you admire and why?
To name a few local favorites with hustle, bustle, flow, and glow... Kit Collins, Sarah Dudek, Abigail McMurray, Kelli Nyman, Jesse Haley, Shelley Barandes, Megan O’Brien, Ashley Vick.
These are an array of artists that are masters of their medium, ranging from illustration, to paper arts, to jewelry. Aside from being prolific in their craft, they do important things for their communities and make social and community-based impacts through what they create. I’m honored to know and love them as friends and fellow-creatives.
If I’m fan-girling, I think Bisa Butler is brilliant and would melt if I had the opportunity to tell her how beautiful I think her brain (and QUILTS) is. I also think that Jennifer Perkins is the coolest.
