VISUAL ART
As a Chicago-based portrait artist, I began developing my visual style while sketching strangers on the train on my way home from school in 8th grade, working as quickly as possible and without looking down at the page so as to avoid being noticed. As you can imagine, given the bumps of the ride and the constraints of time, these portraits were hardly realistic, but that's what I most enjoyed about them; an enormous eyebrow reaching across a man's face, a gaping yawn from floor to ceiling, errant frizz and curls out the closed window, a fisted hand over coffee, these were among the few moving features of these unsuspecting Chicagoans I had attempted to capture in still form on the page, and the result was my individual take on these individuals in a single moment in time. Over the years, I’ve developed a range of stylistic approaches to the portrait, from those stippled and patient to those loose, multi-colored and seemingly out of control, I’ve used pens, gouache, pastel, acrylic, and IPhoto, I’ve worked from photo and from life, and I've worked at large events and on private commission. No matter the context, I’m inspired by the creative challenge of capturing some unique essence of the subject which might, without the help of abstraction, omission, and exaggeration, blend in with and even get lost in the completeness of objective reality. Fittingly, my favorite response to a portrait I've ever received was, “Woah! That looks more like me than I do!” Feel free to reach out with inquiries at allisontorem@gmail.com or on IG (@allison_torem).
STORYTELLING, PROSE POETRY, & SHORT FICTION
As a writer-for-performance, I’ve performed my prose-poetry at Chicago’s Salonathon (2015) and Cinema Femme Live (2020) and I’ve performed my stories at Chicago’s LitFest (2016). As a short fiction writer, my short story Bernard Isn’t A Name received Honorable Mention in Lorian Hemingway’s Short Story Contest (2015) and received 1st place in the Olga and Paul Menn Foundation Prize (2016) and has appeared in Z Publishing House’s Emerging Writer’s Edition (2018).
ARTS EDUCATION
As a volunteer creative writing teacher through The University of Chicago’s South Side Scribblers, I co-led small group activities for grammar school children, grades 3-8, fostering familiarity with conventional storytelling beats and an enthusiasm toward self-expression through the written word. Through The University of Chicago’s Cascade program, I designed and taught a course to 9th-12th graders called Writing The Absurd Comedic Screenplay. I emphasized key story beats and facilitated an atmosphere which celebrated students’ wildest ideas as raw material which very well might shape the outcome of our final product, adapting each week’s lesson plan to align with the individuals in my classroom. I also developed and taught three workshops for high school students during The University of Chicago’s Splash arts fest, including Painting The Expressive Portrait and Staying In The Moment During A Monologue. As an artistic babysitter through Sitters’ Studio Chicago, I planned and led creatively stimulating activities for children ranging from infancy through late adolescence in their homes. When working large corporate events at hotels, I took the lead in entertaining dozens of children through safe and collaborative activities ranging from putting on short, improvised plays to relaxing with arts and crafts.