AllyArchives

Bio

Ally is a Minneapolis based artist, whose current chosen medium is fiber art. Her work explores the intersection of labor, currency, and identity, with a focus on the undervaluation of domestic labor and women’s work. She uses materials like worn fabrics, salvaged embellishments, and unraveling threads to reflect the histories of unseen labor and the care embedded in domestic spaces.

Her practice elevates traditional fiber arts—such as weaving, stitching, and spinning—to challenge the societal dismissal of domesticity as secondary or invisible. By juxtaposing domestic symbols with industrial metaphors, she examines the systems that commodify certain forms of labor while overlooking others, questioning how value is assigned to work in a capitalist framework.

Through her art, Ally invites reflection on labor as an act of care and resilience. By transforming overlooked materials into powerful narratives, she seeks to honor the unseen hands that sustain our lives and provoke empathy for their stories.

Statement

Artist

Current Projects

A large-scale graphite drawing on double-sided frosted mylar of a historical photo of the Twin Cities Stone Arch Bridge

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Graduating from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in May 2025 with a BFA, majoring in Drawing Painting and minoring in creative writing, art history, and teaching.

Labored Expression

Education

My work examines the intersection of labor, currency, and identity, focusing on the historical undervaluation of domestic labor and women’s work. Using fiber as my primary medium, I explore its tactile and intimate qualities to challenge the societal dismissal of domesticity as invisible or secondary.

Fiber arts, tied deeply to women’s labor, serve as both material and metaphor in my practice. Through weaving, stitching, and spinning, I capture the repetition, patience, and care inherent in these processes. By incorporating materials like hand woven fabrics, salvaged embellishments, and unraveling threads, I highlight the histories of unseen labor and invite reflection on its cultural and economic significance. Each piece carries the weight of time and effort, echoing the energy embedded in work which is often overlooked or uncompensated.

Positioning labor as a form of currency, my art juxtaposes domestic symbols with industrial metaphors. It examines the systems that commodify certain types of work while dismissing others, questioning why the care and effort sustaining our lives remain undervalued. By elevating domestic techniques and materials to the gallery space, I aim to disrupt the hierarchy that places “fine art” above “craft,” reframing domestic labor as vital and worthy of recognition.

My practice invites viewers to reflect on labor beyond its transactional nature, seeing it instead as an act of care, survival, and resilience.

Ultimately, my work seeks to foster empathy and awareness for the hands that labor in the background, offering a space to honor their stories. Labor, for me, is not just work—it is a currency of connection and a marker of humanity

Portfolio

Explore vibrant fiber arts, drawings, and paintings by Ally