Author Archive

Ok, so it may not be the cozy 75 degrees outside that I have been longing for since our snow sprinkled never ending winter on the mountain side, but, it has officially been Spring for several weeks now. The  mountain behind our house is no longer spiked with brown trees with their creaking skeletal fingers reaching towards the gray skies, but is showered in an ever increasing amount of green.  And all this greenery, dotted with the whites, yellows, and purples of native wild flowers, has certainly had an influence on the artwork in which I have been creating as of late.

The Majestic, 2013 by Allison Weeks Thomas

Speaking of said artwork, I’m in the final days of preparation for my upcoming show at The Junction restaurant in Asheville’s River Arts District.  Nine days to be exact.  Eek! It doesn’t help that my framer (aka darling husband) is in the middle of final exams.   Alas, it will get finished and I will no longer fill like Linda Blair doing head-spins at warp speed.

So, folks, mark your calendars for May 16th at 6pm so you can come feast your eyes on my new works inspired by nature… the whimsical side of nature, of course!

Wildlings at The Junction. Opening reception May 16th, 6PM. Featured art: The Anticipation of Spring, 2013.

I’ve been working recently on a couple of new pieces for the upcoming group show at ZaPow Gallery in downtown Asheville.  April 5th’s opening show is entitled Space and Time Trifecta.  It is sure to be a blast with the ZaPow artist’s bringing in their creations based on Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr. Who.

While doodling around, trying to come up with a few pieces to show, The Ladies of Sci-Fi were born.  And though only two creations are ready for show, I think I’ve stumbled upon a series that I will be continuing to work on.

The Ladies of Sci-Fi series takes the lovely women of science fiction fame and immortalizes them in retro PinUp girl poses. I have a slight obsession with old school pin up illustrations from the 40s and 50s, so this has been great fun. In this series, I’ve also rekindled my love with watercolors, which has been a truly amazing summer fling.  Me and my Dr. Ph Martin’s may just end up going steady through the fall, though I don’t know if I can completely turn my back on the many layers of Mixed Media.  Sigh.

A little sneak peek at one of my Ladies of Sci-Fi, Lt. Uhura of Star Trek fame.

If you are in the Asheville area on April 5th, do stop by so you can check out my Ladies of Sci-Fi PinUp Girls, as well as some other fascinating art by some other uber talented artists!

Ladies of Sci-Fi PinUp Girl: Princess Leia

A little down time between shows has found me working on a mini mixed media series of elephants.  These darling little elephants were sparked by  my ginormous (by my standards… 30″x40″, yikes!) elephant piece for my current  series and show (SideShow at Desoto Lounge), The Painted Elephant.

New works: Itty Bitty Ellies

After finishing up these little guys, I started working on a batch of new wood tile pendants featuring several of the new pieces from the SideShow series.  As usual, I ended up with some leftover resin. Oh, what to do? What to do? Why not pour it on one of the itty bitty elephant pieces and see what happens?

Resin topped ellie

I guess we will see in the morning how it turned out! If all goes well, to Etsy she will go!

Check out the awesome article about yours truly written by the talented Tim Jackson in The Asheville Post here. Woo hoo! <3

The Painted Elephant, 2013

Next Thursday, folks, marks the opening of my solo exhibition at Desoto Lounge in Asheville.  If you are in the area, join me from 7 to 10 PM. The show will be up until the last week of March.

And if you can make it out, ZaPow’s group exhibition, Steampunk Carnival, will be opening up Saturday, February 9th from 7-9PM.  You can see several pieces by your’s truly in this upcoming show as well!

Francine and Jumbo, 2013 by Allison Weeks Thomas can be seen in ZaPow's Group Exhibition, Steampunk Carnival beginning Feb. 9th!

Ok, ok. So, I know I have been absent as of late, but it has been a hectic couple of months! On top of doing several shows this past holiday season, we moved down the highway and over a mountain to Waynesville (where we seem to have a giant snow magnet on top of our house…brrr!), and I am gearing up for a couple of upcoming shows.

But before I elaborate on that, I have some very fun and exciting news to share with you! I am honored to announce that I am the current Featured Artist over at ZaPOW! Gallery’s website. I am so excited about this!Woot! Woot! Insert little happy dance here.  You can check out the little feature on my here.  And if you are in the Asheville area, get your bumpers (I learned this word at my daughter’s preschool) over to ZaPOW! and check out all the awesome art!

Oh, yeah. I mentioned getting ready for  upcoming shows.  On February 7th from 7-10PM, there will be an opening reception for my new circus themed series, SideShow, at Desoto Lounge in West Asheville. This series has been so much fun to work on. I’m actually still working on more pieces, so send your art vibes this a way because I’d love to include The Tattooed Lady and The Horned Man in this show!

St-st-studio shot of The Bearded Lady in progress.

And while we are on the subject of shows and circuses, I am also participating in the ZaPOW Group Show: Steampunk Carnival next month. The show opens on February 9th, and you surely don’t want to miss this themed show that coincides with the Asheville’s Mardi Gras! Hope to see you out and about!

Whilst packing clothes and painting and wearable art this morning before hitting the old highway, I realized that I totally forgot to share with you this weekend’s festivities!  I will be at the Heart of Cary Association’s Ole Time Winter Festival in located Downtown Cary, North Carolina tomorrow (Saturday, December 1st 2012 from 10am-4pm). There’s going to be great, local arts and crafts, food, entertainment and… SANTA! So bring the kiddos out for a jolly good time…and have a chance to support and buy local and handmade this holiday season!

And, if you aren’t in the Triangle area, I will be setting up my booth at next weekend’s Asheville Chocolate and Arts Festival at the Civic Center in Downtown Asheville. That’s Saturday, December 8th from 12pm-7pm. Make sure to get your tickets in advance to save a little moola, you know, so you have extra to spend on local chocolate! And art! This looks like it is going to be a fabulous event! Not only is it drenched in chocolate and art, but there will be Tibetan Monks, World Music, drum circles, dance, fashion shows, storytelling and so much more!

Plus,  ’20% of proceeds will be donated to local nonprofits Odyessy Community School to provide scholarships for arts education,Kids at Work!  a culinary arts program for at-risk youth and the Urban Arts Institute youth dance/film.’ (ACA website)

Well, I hope to see you out and about this Holiday season! Now, I’ve got to hit the road and head down the mountain!

PS, Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for the Tree of Life necklace by Centsations and myself! The drawing is Monday!

Hello, m’dears! Hope the Fall is finding you well! Just  a few more days til Thanksgiving… can you believe it?!?!  I love this time of year; being able to spend time with family you don’t get to see often, pecan pie, local arts and crafts shows to start some Holiday shopping, pecan pie, decorating the Christmas tree, pecan pie, warm fuzzy socks and a roaring fire…and did I mention pecan pie?  And the best… Holiday Giveaways! I mean, who doesn’t like FREE stuff?

This Holiday season, Lora Lee of  Centsations and myself are giving away our artistic collaboration: an awesome piece of jewelry.  The coin flower was hammered out and shaped by the expert, artistic hands of Lora out of a silver dollar.  Lora makes some fabulous jewelry out of coins and copper.  She recently sent me this awesome copper etched Lotus blossom necklace.  Her work is to die for!  So, I suggest you go and check it out right after you enter our fabulous giveaway!

After Lora was finished the beautiful coin flowers, the pendants traveled from Lousiana to the mountains of Western North Carolina, where I got to add my artful touch to them.  Much like my Spoonfuls (haven’t seen my Spoonfuls? check them out… wearable art in a spoon!), an itty bitty print of my art is placed inside the coin flower, which is then filled with resin.  The result:

'Tree of Life' Coin flower necklace collaboration by Centsations and Allison Weeks Thomas

So what are you waiting for, enter to win!!! It only takes a few minutes… and you can earn multiple entries! Enter HERE.

And hey, if you aren’t the lucky one this time around, we will be auctioning off another beautiful pendant soon!

So, for a couple of years now, I’ve been meaning to participate in Illustration Friday‘s weekly artistic challenge.  And finally…FINALLY… I did it!!! Yay, and all before I have to take my four year old to her ballet class! I am so patting myself on the back right now!

The Last Day Before Winter, 2012

Wow, October is almost over?!?! I have been holed up in my studio for what feels like months, trying to keep the galleries fresh and the boutiques stocked with spoon pendants and getting ready for this weekend’s arts festival in John’s Creek, Georgia.  I’m very excited about my first outdoors, out of state festival (put on by the lovely people over at Splash Festivals), though it has been a lot of late nights and long days getting ready for it. Creating new art, having the hubs hard at work making my booth displays, all the while being a mommy, waitress, housekeeper, chauffeur, etc, etc. But despite the hiccups and challenges, I am so excited about this festival! If you’re in the Atlanta area, come on out and see me Saturday, October 27th and Sunday, October 28th!  And if you can’t make it, I hope to have some pictures to share soon of my experience!

Spoon Pendant: Tea and Petals