Alisha N. Porter

Artist

 I am an artist and educator drawn to the transformative power of clay and the endless possibilities of mixed media and craft processes. Inspired by personal experiences of joy and trauma, I hopefully construct surrealist worlds by installing the objects I create in hopes of blurring the boundaries between the human and the abstract to open up new possibilities. Through these hybrid forms, I strive to provoke thought and inspire dialogue about the complexities of queer identity nurturing and creating crafted communities that are radically inclusive.

My artistic practice is rooted in a queer sensibility aesthetically and conceptually. I infuse functional and sculptural works primarily made of clay with flamboyant energy and camp aesthetics in an act of celebration and sometimes healing as I have started to act upon my freedoms and share my ideas in 3-D design. I merge my body with nature and architecture to construct hybrid forms that challenge traditional notions of space and identity, I acknowledge otherhood and question harmful normativity, essentially. I tend to work in clay materials and processes to offer ideas as it has become my primary language with all the potential to become that I simply can’t condense here (there are infinite potentials), clay is undeniable carrying the history and helping to maintain every civilization across time.  I am exhilarated as I am also often moved to call upon other resources; I dramatically and comically employ found objects, other craft processes, and strange rendering of surprising materials to help me clarify my creative intentions.  I am pulled to attention by color, so I infuse meaningful vibrant colors and tactile textures to beckon viewers to engage my world of queer possibility, one that I am passionately and creatively making. I welcome you on this journey that I am still unfolding at 40 years of age, one which I am enjoying intensely, and lamenting only occasionally.

Alisha N. Porter is a lesbian daughter of Catholic Spanish heritage born in the American Southwest in the mid 80’s. She happily boasts her imposed societal role as an elder millennial and hopeful queer activist. Porter has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville and was a 2023 NCECA Multicultural Fellow.  Porter has exhibited in the National NCECA Student Juried Show, was awarded Graduate sculpture and ceramics prizes for three consecutive years at SIUE’s Student Juried Exhibition and is a proud Artist in Residence alum of The New Harmony Clay Project of Indiana. She is seeking to create “The Portery”, a craft education and residency program in the North of New Mexico on heritage lands or wherever it needs to be. Porter is currently preparing for a solo exhibition as the 2024/2025 Whitaker Artist in Residence at Craft Alliance of St. Louis.