Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison McCullough.
Hi Allison, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been an artist. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really known and loved. My mother taught me to oil paint when I was 12 years old, after that, I never stopped painting. I went on to win awards in high school for art and photography (back when we used darkrooms!) In college, I was going to major in photography, but I ended up quitting art and ended up getting my degree in English to become a teacher, which I thought was going to be a more sustainable job. The politics of the art world and the cliques of the art groups in college turned me off, and I spent a long time struggling to come up with anything. I did paint quite a bit in college, but most of those paintings ended up in boxes. My dreams changed a bit after graduating college and I ended up marrying my college sweetheart and moving to Austin.
I had my first child in 2010. After her birth, I went into mom-mode. I became a stay-at-home mom and didn’t bother with my degree or making art for a while. Though there was always a pull to go back to the paintbrush. In 2014 I had my second child and was diagnosed with severe PPD. I spent the next five years (and I still struggle daily) on and off medications, visiting therapists and even a stint at an inpatient treatment center for depression. 2019 was a devastating year for my family and for my mental health. With a cancer diagnosis in the family, a psychiatric hospital stay, and a traumatic injury my daughter suffered, I felt lost, hopeless and numb. I had been trying to paint and sell my paintings for the past year, but doing that only made me feel stressed. I couldn’t paint for money. I just couldn’t do it. Also, due to my stress levels and ADD, finishing a painting (especially with a deadline) became impossible. The depression took hold of me terribly between 2019 and 2020. By 2021 I was a divorced, single mom of two kids, one of whom with severe ADHD and behavioral problems we still struggle with daily. But the one thing that kept me grounded was art. While I was in the psychiatric facility, I fell in love with art therapy, it was the one part of the day I truly looked forward to. After returning home, I decided I wanted to do something different. Dabbling in resin started out as just a fun hobby, but I soon discovered that I was able to build worlds with mixed media, something I was never really able to do with paint. For some reason, it clicked for me. I started my Etsy shop and did my first craft show in October of 2019. It’s been over two years now and I have made over 300 sales online, most of which are one-of-a-kind pieces of art and many, many more in person. I can take all of my emotions, and my stress and the figures I dream about and make them real, and I’m not done. I am constantly coming up with new ideas and bringing them to fruition. I’m still a single mom, a substitute teacher, a daughter and a friend, but at the end of the day, I’m an artist. Art saved my life. And if one thing can come from my success, I hope it’s that I’m able to show the world that it’s OK to have mental illness, to be lonely, to be scared. It’s ok to feel lost, and it’s ok to start over, even if you think it’s too late. It’s not too late.
I’m now also teaching resin classes at the Wilco Art Lab in Taylor, TX twice a month as well, which combines both of my true loves, art and teaching.
This hobby, this craft, this art, it’s changed my life. Maybe even saved my life. I don’t hold back talking about my depression because I am able to accept that it’s just part of who I am now. I still struggle almost daily. Every single day I wake up and wonder which Allison I will be, but now there’s one constant in my life; my art.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. I have battled depression, severe ADD (which I’m still trying to manage), a divorce after 13 years of marriage and having to completely start my life over. Trying to start over as a single mom without falling into the dredges of corporate America has been extremely difficult. I’m always busy, I’m often overwhelmed and sometimes wonder if I should just pick up a 9-5 job, but that is just not me. I wouldn’t thrive in an environment like that.
It doesn’t make it any easier that I have a child who is on the Autism spectrum with ADHD and some behavioral problems. Our relationship has been a strained one since he was born seven years ago, but we are constantly working towards a better place.
The resin world is extremely oversaturated, especially after Covid. Many people picked it up as a hobby, so you see many of the same pieces floating around. I work really hard to make my pieces more than just “resin art.” I consider myself a mixed media artist with a focus on resin design. Every single piece I make is one of a kind and cannot be replicated.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Trying to turn my creative passion into a successful business has been difficult. The resin world is over-saturated right now as it’s become and extremely popular hobby. I promised myself when I started this endeavor that I would not become a mass-produced artist because I know if that happened, I wouldn’t enjoy what I do anymore, and it’s extremely important for my own mental health that I put all my creative forces into every piece I make. That being said, I have become much pickier on what I make. I have a few pieces that I make exclusively (though each one is different).
As far as what I specialize in, I am known for working with found objects, bones, insects, flowers (many of which I find and dry myself) and other oddities. There’s something about preserving death so that it lives forever that speaks to me.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I think one interesting thing about myself and my family is that I come from a very artistic background. Like I said earlier, my mother taught me to oil paint when I was a kid. Though she doesn’t paint now, I truly believe she has artistic talent and a creative mind. On the other hand, my brother is a well-known Austin musician named Roger Sellers, who goes by “Bayonne.” He and I are very alike in that we express ourselves creatively, and I don’t think either of us would be able to live “normal” lives without our art.
Contact Info:
- Email: enidine12@gmail.com
- Website: bluehouroddities.etsy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluehouroddities
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluehouroddities
Image Credits
Wilco Art Lab
