ALAMOSA — Allison Cruse is the featured artist at the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative for February. Come join us for this come-and-go event to see her art and meet the artist. There is an artist reception on Feb. 7 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the book cooperative. 

Cruse is a self-taught artist living in Alamosa. She works with water-based mediums to paint, weave and sculpt in a slow process of creation. She paints with watercolor and ink, on canvas and paper, and also works with willow and pine to weave baskets and sculptures. She enjoys the connection to her materials, locally harvesting much of the willow she uses, and gathering pine needles from the trees of her native East Texas. She also incorporates handmade watercolors from small paint makers around the country in her paintings.  

All mediums she uses are water based in some way, and inspire the flowing nature of her process. Water is used to carry the pigment in watercolor paints and liquid ink across the page and canvas. Willow grows along the water’s edge, and preparing it for weaving requires a slow soaking process. Pine needles also must be soaked and softened in water to shape them into her finished pieces. 

There is much time involved in the harvest and preparation of materials, and the periods of soaking and drying that flow in between active creation. She embraces it all as a part of her creative process. Her art is slow art. From the time required for water to dry on the canvas to the lengthy month-long process of willow harvest, drying, and soaking, the slowness of her art encourages her to focus on the process and work with the materials, allowing them to move the way they want to move. Embracing slow art also encourages living with the seasons and in connection to the land, and working with our own inner seasons.  

Cruse is inspired by patterns and rhythms in nature, color itself, and the human experience, particularly emotion and the expression joy and connection. She is inspired by the landscapes that are close to her heart, and the materials themselves. Some of her art is inspired by utility, such as her basketmaking, but ultimately life is the inspiration of her work, and she tries to live life creatively through all of her passions. She also enjoys gardening, playing music and cooking creatively, and the way each of these passions helps the others to grow as she flows through the seasons.  

Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative is located at 602 Main St., Alamosa.