Do you miss checking out all the great art around our four walls while you’re dancing the night away or enjoying eggs benny? Us too. To help keep some of that magic going while we’re in lockdown, we teamed up with our friends at DesignTO to bring work from local artist Alisa McRonald to all of our open zones at The Drake Hotel. Alisa’s woven weirdos can be seen now in our cafe and lobby – swing by, grab a take-out coffee and check them out. We chatted with Alisa to get to know her a little better and chat making art during a pandemic, plus her tips for up and coming artists.
Hi! Let’s start by telling us who are you and what are some themes in your work?
My name is Alisa McRonald and I’m from Guelph and the themes I explore in my work are mostly influenced by pop culture and esoteric witchy stuff.
What are your goals for 2021?
Getting a lot more stuff online, building up my Instagram following, and sell more work online. It’s been rough, and while I would love to have shows in galleries, I think it’s important to have a balance these days.
What advice do you have for up + coming artists?
I would say mostly online, probably up-and-coming artists have more advantages than I do about learning about technology. I am older! I think just keep on making stuff and keep on showing it. Think of non-traditional ways of showing your work.
What trends are you excited about in the art world?
I’m really excited that there seems to be a huge resurgence of textile work. I just love textile work and have always loved ceramics, and I love that line between fine art and craft, so I’m really liking that.
What album are you listening to?
I always have Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in and I have been listening to a lot of David Bowie lately as it was just his birthday and the anniversary of his death, and I found this Ava Cherry album that came out that I hadn’t heard of, so I’ve been listening to that a lot. She’s one of the back-up singers and also has a solo career – it’s called The Astranettes. It’s really good.
Favourite comfort food?
I love a big veggie burger and fries with lots of vinegar on the fries!
Check out a video of this interview here. It has been edited above for clarity.