Alyssa Winans grew up outside Chicago and recently relocated to northern California. With Vote The Environment, Alyssa is participating in her third campaign with the Creative Action Network. Needless to say, we're big fans of her work, and we wanted to share her responses to some questions we asked her about this latest campaign and her artistic process.
CAN: Describe how you became an artist.
Alyssa: Art actually snuck up on me, as it was never one of those things I considered myself good at. That being said, my best friend growing up was a fantastic artist, and we would often spend our time making up stories and drawing accompanying pictures. That became less of a priority as I got older, and I largely didn't consider it in any of my future plans, in part because I didn't realize it was a viable career option. At the end of high school, I decided to apply to an art school among my other schools out of what I could only say was a flight of fancy. My friends and family were very encouraging about this sudden turn of events, and I ended up attending the Rhode Island School of Design, after which various internships and many folks far wiser than me helped me kick off my professional career.
CAN: What’s your connection to the cause of Vote The Environment?
Alyssa: I don't consider myself a particularly vocal person, but I feel like this is an issue that affects all of us simply for being alive and present on earth. There are so many recent issues that will have big consequences farther down the road-- things that seem like news stories now, but have already begun affecting our day to day lives. I wanted to focus on some specifics (disappearing wildlife, the state of our oceans) to take action today, rather than when it's too late.
