ALBY – Alison Barrows-Young – Circle Foundation for the Arts

Alison Barrows-Young was born August 27, 1958, in New York City and spent her childhood in Ontario, Canada (1968 - 82). She earned her BFA (1980) at Antioch College and went on to complete an MFA (1984) at Florida State University. Barrows-Young holds an M.Ed. (2010) from Concordia University and did adjunct professorships between 1984 and 2008.

“I have come to believe that I require art. For me, art is a compelling way of life. It promotes essential self-expression as well as inter-relational and inter-cultural connections. For me, it is the most powerful way to articulate my quandaries as well as my discoveries, passions and dreams.

Through the years, my artistic voice has gathered into an alliance with my preference to live in the wilderness, to preserve nature and to advocate for the earth. I am devoted to self-awareness, living peacefully within our biosphere and nurturing youthful persistence. I hold the path as a mother, grandmother and mentor for those who are borne to me through my body, my wanderings and upon the wind."

"The natural qualities that animate my remote home, in the Pacific Northwest, fill my life and my imagery. I have been profoundly taken by its wild beauty; alive with idyllic disposition and dramatic personae that invoke an animist sensibility, and compel a strong sense of belonging to the earth."