Meet Alyssa Dolleschal | Printmaker & Fine Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alyssa Dolleschal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alyssa, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?

I am of Mexican and German descent and frequently use my upbringing to influence my artwork. I grew up in Los Angeles county where Chicano culture is prominent and proud and later relocated to Temecula, CA. My artwork frequently relates to my Mexican heritage, as that is the side of my family I grew up closest to. My maternal grandfather, a Bracero railroader, Immigrated from Zacatecas, México, and brought the family to East Los Angeles. My father born in Berlin, Germany even grew up surrounded by Chicano culture having immigrated here at age 4. The places and experiences my family have had impact my work greatly. I’ve always had such a close family and it’s been lovely to have that kind of support growing up. I didn’t grow up with much as a child and that motivated me to go out and cultivate my own success. It drove me to go to college and get my Bachelor degree, graduating as a first generation college student

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Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My artwork is a representation of my culture through my perspective. For many, food is an important connection to their culture I utilize this through my work. The only constant for me has been the foods I grew up with and my mother’s family here. Childhood memories of big birthday parties, piñatas; drunk, loud Tíos, and the Catholic Church. We were a Mexican-American stereotype. Through my work I explore my culture and the complex ways I’ve grown up in it. I’ve always felt more connected to my Mexican half but never connected enough. I’ve translated that through depicting stereotypical brands, labels, and anything common in my household as modern still lifes. In addition to kitchen and food objects, various animal subjects often recur in my compositions. Adding these subjects to my work make it feel like more than just a still life; it adds a lightheartedness to the piece, as well as a bizarre humor to it. Printmaking is my choice of medium for my art. I’ve always been a very anxious person and printmaking has kept me grounded. These processes take long hours and high technical skill to create. I typically create intaglio, lithographs and relief prints. I always find myself in long conversations at art fairs or galleries explaining what I do. Printmaking has been around for hundreds of years and I love keeping that tradition alive. I work with old printing presses and lots of chemicals. All of my work gets hand inked and printed the old fashion way pre computers. As I’ve been told before you can spend a whole life time learning printmaking techniques and that’s what I love about it.
I was initially terrified to pursue a career in art due to fear of financial instability but I have no regrets; it is my passion. It wasn’t easy getting to where I am today I had to overcome a lot of mental hurdles to get here. I think with a lot of creatives we tend to get in our head thinking we aren’t ‘good enough’ and for me that’s led to missing out on opportunities due to thinking I didn’t belong. I’ve had to learn to ignore that self doubt and accept that rejections are part of this career. Apply to galleries apply for art grants the worst they can do is say no! I’ve had my fair share of being disappointed by rejection letters and I’ve had my wins too. I was most proud when I got into graduate school although I wasn’t able to attend due to personal/ health reasons at the time. I also had to overcome the challenge of not having access to a studio after graduation. I graduated in 2020 when everything shut down and I had to learn to pivot and keep going. I spent a year building a fully equipped print studio at home. Every other paycheck I would buy something for my studio and by the end of 2021 I had everything I needed. As with most things In life the key is to take small steps and keep moving.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Temecula is well known for the many wineries out here. To be honest I don’t really like wine but I love to visit for the scenery and music. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy the view of vineyards. Most of the time I leave Temecula to go to La Jolla or any other beaches in San Diego county. For me nothing beats going by the coast and getting some good street tacos. In general I love to be out in nature.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to shout out my college professor David Williams. He is an amazing printmaker and helped cultivate my love for printmaking processes. He really inspired me to keep trying new things and to not be so anxious from every little mistake. I’d also like to shoutout my other professor Barbara Ryan Gartin whom always gave the best chats about art and life. Even after graduating both of them have continued to aid me in growing my career as a new graduate.

Website: dolleschalpress.com

Instagram: alyssa.dolleschal.art

Image Credits
Kayla Dickens