Continual Learning.
attended J.I. Case High School Racine, WI
graduated 2000, BFA Painting, minor in Printmaking | 2004, MFA University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
currently works as a teacher + professional artist.
Allyson Mellberg Taylor
“I loved the time I spent at MIAD. I started taking classes there in the pre-college program when I was still in high school. Now, as a teacher, I am still discovering how much I really learned while I was there.”
An extensive résumé sits on top of a stack of papers on my cluttered desk. Single-spaced, and slightly intimidating, it boasts of professional work experience and gallery exhibitions. Since graduating from MIAD in 2000, Mellberg Taylor hasn’t stood still, and her résumé is proves it. In graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill, Mellberg Taylor gained extensive teaching and curatorial experience. Whether teaching in the classroom, or making it in her studio, art continues to play an integral role in her life. Mellberg Taylor has exhibited work nationwide, from New York to California.
Trying to Eat, collograph, 2002
Q. As a child, what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?
A. I learned how to draw, and care about drawing — not just from my drawing teachers, but also from my printmaking and painting teachers.
Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you have experienced life after graduation?
A. It is completely possible to be a professional artist, teacher, designer. You will always, always have to work hard and love what you are doing.
Q. What are some of your goals, interests, for your future in art?
A. I want to continue working with great people, and to always be making things. In graduate school, I revisited sculpture and started sewing. Not only did I start making sculptures again, but I started making clothing and handbags.
Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you would like to share?
A. I show my work often, and with people that I love. I am happy to have shown in galleries and museums with Team LUMP (LUMP is an artist-run gallery out of Raleigh, NC that showcases emerging artists. www.lumpgallery.com). This year I am having my first solo show in New York at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn. (www.cindersgallery.com)
Underbird, collograph, 2001
Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.
A. I was a painting major to begin with, and I felt very strongly that painting was the most important thing a person could do. But then, I fell in love with printmaking, and added it as a minor. I am much more of a printmaker, I think like a printmaker, I went to graduate school to focus on printmaking. I am glad that I was involved in both majors at MIAD, and that I stayed an extra year to complete my minor (I added it very late in the game). I’m very glad that I allowed myself to open up to other mediums and ways of making things. I enjoy working on paper, and I still love to paint. Right now, nine years later, I am making egg tempera paintings. When you choose your major at MIAD, you never know where it may take you. I wasn’t sure if I would ever paint again, because I became so immersed in printmaking. But now I do both and I don’t even think about the space between the two. I learned so many things about painting and printmaking during my time at MIAD… I think you store away some of that knowledge for later, you never know when you will need it.
samples of Mellberg-Taylor’s work
Solo Exhibitions:
- New Works, Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY [2005]
- Small Girl, T and L Gallery, Raleigh, NC [2004]
- Ghosts, Garfield Artworks Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA [2002]
- New Works, Atomix, Chicago, IL [2002]
- Monsters, Beans & Barley, Milwaukee, WI [2000]
Selected Collections:
- La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
- Fogg Museum, Harvard University
- Milwaukee Art Museum, Print & Drawing Room, Milwaukee, WI
- Baltimore Art Museum Library, Baltimore, MD
