Christina L. Allen, Artist, Mentor, Gardener - Christina L Allen;James Dicus

I have been an artist from my earliest memories.

I have been a professional artist for 45 years, as well as a kitchen gardener and small-scale farmer. I consider myself a Maker. Fiber arts, textiles, food, and all my work are woven together. Writing this book, I discovered I have had a very prolific output of watercolors, oil-on-paper paintings, and children's books. I started Corn Crib Studio & Publishing, a micro-publishing company. To date, I have illustrated and published thirteen books and won nine national awards. I realized it was time to try to publish a book about my work with my biography.

The autobiography section helps illustrate how and why I became who I am today as a person, artist, mentor, and gardener. The many images in the main body of the book feature my artworks. My artwork has two components I focused on. One is what I was thinking in choosing and making the piece. The "why" I made that work. There is a usually a theme I'm exploring with each piece beyond the surface subject matter. The second component is more educational for other artists. If there is a technique or skill that I used for the work that is interesting, I want to share that to those interested in "how" my paintings are made.

In art, fiber work, and gardening, I have mentored hundreds of people over the decades to learn or develop their own skills. I believe we are meant to share our gifts and talents. "To whom much is given, much is expected." I take that literally.

The preface written by James Dicus is a surprising addition to the book. I found I have a fan who has been watching my artwork for some years.Jimmy is an exuberant force of nature.Surprisingly, even though we have not been friends for long, he seems to understand me through my paintings. I always believed that the art should be able to tell the story without further explanation. What a thrill to know that my work can be understood on its own.

The third part of the book has more details about my work as a Kitchen Gardener and small scale farmer.

The book is not a comprehensive catalog of my work. There are far too many paintings I have created to do that. I tried to cover the main themes of my work. I hope you enjoy it.