Bio
Alaina is a Seattle artist who studied at Cornish College of the Arts (class of 2015). There, a fascination with intricacy led to investigating mediums like oil painting, installation, and embroidery. She started Living Artists Collective in 2020, a nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities and funding that make it easier for practicing artists to remain in the increasingly-expensive Seattle area. Her time is spent organizing these programs, curating gallery-style shows, scrambling around in the nuances of her art practice, and reading contemporary fiction.
Artist Statement
My art practice is inspired by memento mori, Latin for “remember that you will die”. To me, the natural progression from a reminder of mortality is the depiction of experiences that make up a life. I am fascinated by objects and practices useful to humans as ritual-building, routine-seeking creatures. Drawing from my own stories, I explore the feeling of comfort and freedom when creating a bittersweet homage to the inevitability of passing time. I work in progression: a collected object may remind me of a story that inspires a poem, then a painting and another poem, mirroring the movement of a person through phases in their life. Skulls, wilting flowers, household objects, and basic foodstuffs are depicted through my primary medium of oil paint, often paired with fabrics, embroidery, and other processes dubbed “women’s work”, offering a window into my personal experience of being human.
CV
Alaina Stocker
Born 1992 in Scottsdale, AZ. Lives and works in Seattle, WA.
Education
Spring 2015’ Bachelor of Fine Arts Graduate, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA
Shows/Commissions/Residencies
2023 “The Wheel”, Slide Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 “Body of Work: Exploring Nature, Home, and Mortality”, Labour Temple, Seattle, WA
2023 “Matrix Reclaimed”, The Fishbowl, Seattle, WA
2023 “Unwritten”, The Fishbowl, Seattle, WA
2023 Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds, WA
2023 “Pride at Slide”, Slide Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 “The Title is Thick”, Base Camp Studios, Seattle, WA
2023 “Arts Explosion”, Federal Way, WA
2023 ‘you are not alone’ Living Artists Collective Group Show, Slip Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 Vashon Artist Residency Session 2, Vashon Island, WA
2021 Members Show, Living Artists Collective, Fulcrum Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA
2020 Covid Creations “Open House” Show, Living Artists Collective, Seattle, WA
2019-2020 Embroidered Works, Bush and Ivy Wax Boutique, Seattle, WA
2019 “Red List: Endangered Moths and Butterflies”, Ghost Gallery, Seattle, WA
2019 “Fruiting Bodies and Efflorescence”, Push/Pull Gallery, Seattle, WA
2019 CoCA “Motherland” Member’s Show, Seattle, WA
2019 “Bridging the Gap: Art that Brings us Together” at the Phinney Center Gallery, Seattle, WA
2017 "Selections from Daily Drawings", Chocolati Cafe, Greenwood, Seattle, WA
2017 "Memento Mori", Ballyhoo Curiosity Shop (curated by Push/Pull Gallery), Seattle, WA
2017 Two Dot Schoolhouse Residency, Two Dot, Montana
2015 BFA Show, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA
2014 Open Studio Show, Cornish K Lab Studios, Seattle, WA
2014 “Existence”, Platforms of Exchange Student Group Show, Cornish L Space Gallery, Seattle, WA
2014 “Empty Words”, Closet Gallery at Cornish, Seattle, WA
2014 Cornish Merit Scholarship Show, L Space Gallery, Seattle, WA
2014 Permanent Cornish Drawing Collection Exhibition, Main Campus Center, Seattle, WA
2014 Blick Scholars Show, Blick Art Materials, Seattle, WA
2013 Portrait Drawing Commission, Seattle, WA
2013 Cornish Merit Scholarship Show, Main Gallery, Seattle, WA
2012 Cornish Freshman Student Show, Main Gallery, Seattle, WA
2011 “Works On Paper”, Other Coast Café, Seattle, WA