Two years ago, Street Roots vendor Aileen McPherson walked into Blick Art Materials on Northwest Glisan Street and asked what she would need to do to have her art hang in the windows. Her name was put on a waiting list, and she recently got the call that she would be Blick’s featured local artist.
“I’ve been on cloud nine,” Aileen said. “It’s a dream. It’s reality. It’s like, please don’t let this dream fade away; let it keep becoming reality.”
Aileen began creating art as a child as a way to keep herself occupied and calm. She’s been saving her art since the ’90s. Seven of the eight pieces she has hanging at Blick were created while she was living at Dignity Village in the early 2010s.
“I don’t know exactly how I would classify them,” Aileen said. “They are snippets of how I felt. As (folk rock artist) S.J. Tucker says, ‘The truth comes down in riddles that are safe enough to share.’ I feel my artwork is the same way because I consider it abstract, yet you can see definite forms in it.”
The Blick showcase is the first opportunity Aileen has had to hang her art in Portland, but she has previously exhibited her art in classrooms. In 2009, she sold a few pieces at the coffeeshop Emerge in Salem.
Selling her art has always been a way for Aileen to make a little extra pocket money for bills, for the storage unit where she keeps her art, and for other day-to-day costs.
She resides in an RV with her husband. Her primary dream is to have a calm, peaceful, stable home off the roadside. She hopes having her art showcased in the Blick windows will be a stepping stone toward realizing that dream.
“If I sell anything, that’s a hand up,” she said. “I can put money toward my monthly bills, and then I’ll be able to actually have some extra money to put into that savings account.”
These days, Aileen has been focused on writing poetry, and her poems are often featured in Street Roots.
FURTHER READING: Street Roots poets share their work aloud
But she’s also using her art to capture the experience of living on the streets. She’s creating small snapshots of those she sees sleeping outside.
“You know, it’s a person inside, but on the outside, it’s just a cocoon,” Aileen said. “Be it boxes, blankets or tarps, they are hiding inside just trying to stay warm, rest, sleep, rejuvenate. And it saddens me.”
STREET ROOTS VENDOR WRITING: ‘Shelter’ by Aileen McPherson
While searching through her artwork to find pieces to exhibit at Blick, Aileen found that she had several larger sketchbooks and canvases that could be repurposed.
“I’m thinking as soon as it starts warming up and paints will dry properly, I’ll take those snapshots and make them bigger. I make artwork based off what I see. What brings me tears is what I capture,” she said.
Most of the art she has hanging at Blick is part of what Aileen refers to as her “one-lines.” These are drawings that she created in a couple of sittings, starting with one basic line that filled the whole sheet of paper, with details added later. She then attaches the paper to a board for stability.
She often creates her one-lines, like “The Keep,” as a way to keep herself calm and focused.
“By the time I’m done, I feel like I’ve cleared my mind,” she said. “I have a little more focus. It’s not relaxed because I’m really still not sure what that’s supposed to feel like. It’s a form of relaxed.”
“Art has always been therapy for me, because no matter what I’m feeling, I can grab a pen and get it out of my head. And if I can’t get it out of my head, it’s a work in progress.”
STREET ROOTS VENDOR WRITING: 'Rallying Cry' by Aileen McPherson
IF YOU GO
Aileen's art will be exhibited until March 15, 2018, at Blick Art Materials, 1115 NW Glisan St., Portland.
Blick has business cards available for anyone interested in purchasing one of her pieces.
More of her art and poetry can be found on her website, aidesigns2074.wordpress.com.