Alissa Alfonso / Pearlescent Clouds 2

Alissa Alfonso creates beautiful objects that repurpose the past in order to speak to the future. A talented and curious visual artist, Alfonso is an old soul devoted to preserving the natural world as well as a mother of three, a collector of vintage Asian kitsch, a children’s clothing designer, a self-proclaimed trash-picker, and a master of DIY décor. Her projects often seek to involve other artists and members of her community, reflecting an awareness of social ecosystems that echoes her love for nature. She works from her home studio inside the light-filled,1937 art deco house she and her husband renovated in Hollywood, Florida, dying fabrics for her art in the cottage out back. Her deep love for environment and community is evident in everything she does, from botanical soft sculptures modeled after healing plants and made from upcycled, hand-dyed fabrics to her work developing an entirely green, “alternative” art program in Broward County schools. Alfonso’s passion to preserve natural environments and to reconnect her community with the surrounding abundance drives her to constantly collect and repurpose discarded materials of all shapes and sizes.