MANSFIELD — Allison Pence took an artistic leap of faith three years ago, leaving behind a full-time teaching position to pursue her own true vocation.
On Friday morning, while working on a new mural under the sea at the Mansfield Area Y pool, Pence stopped for a few minutes to reflect on a radically different career path.
Rather than teach art, she became an “artrepreneur,” striking out on her own to explore, develop, showcase — and market — her own skills.
“It was the scariest decision I had made in my life,” Pence said. “But I took the leap, giving myself no option but to make it work, and now I’ve learned that facing fear, and making the toughest choices, often end with the best outcomes.”
As she worked Friday, Pence said her desire to create art rose as her desire to teach it in school diminished.
“I was getting progressively unhappy teaching and that’s really a career that you can’t be unhappy in (to succeed). You have to love what you’re doing. I just wasn’t loving it anymore.
“I knew my soul would be happier creating art.”
Her own work as an artist actually began to take off during her final year of teaching, success that fueled her desire.
“(Creating art) was all I wanted to do while I was at school. All I could think about was getting home so that I could paint and do more art,” she said with a laugh.
AN ARTIST LIFE
Pence was born in Zanesville in southeast Ohio, but grew up near Allentown, Penn. Art was in her blood through her artistic mother, beginning to draw and paint as far back as she can remember.
After graduating from high school in 1997, Pence returned to north central Ohio, beginning college at Ashland University as an art major, ultimately graduating with a degree in education from The Ohio State University.
As she transitioned from teaching to doing, Pence began creating and selling her own paintings. She purchased and revamped her own mobile art studio, a former mail truck she christened “Art Van Go.”
Then along came murals. She and fellow local artist Robin Shoupe created the “Cosmic Crosswalk” on a mid-block crossing on West Fourth Street during a pop-up walkability project in August 2019.
“That was my first mural,” Pence said. “Murals were not something that had really crossed my mind. After that one happened, another person got in touch with me about doing one. And then someone else contacted me.
“I was like, ‘man, I really enjoy doing this.’ “
Pence has become a frequent flyer in terms of creating murals at the Mansfield Area Y. Her work adorns the walls of the childcare center and also the outside wall near the splash pad area.
This project, being done while the pool is closed and drained for annual maintenance, is one of the more challenging. Pence had to do research in advance to determine the best paints for an aquatic environment, as well as what tints provided the best colors.
“We’ve known about the project for some time, but it took quite a bit of research. Apparently this isn’t done all that often,” she said. “It’s been an ongoing process to figure out what to use.”
She began work at the Y on Wednesday and must be done by Tuesday evening. That’s when the giant pool will be refilled and her new sea creatures, including fish, whales, sea horses and more, must be ready to swim.
“This might be the first project I have done with a hard deadline,” Pence said, again with an easy laugh. “The good thing is there is no set amount of painting I have to do. I will work each day to get as much done as I can in the next few days.”
Murals, murals and more
The creative art of Pence, who has now completed about 65 murals, can literally be seen all over Mansfield.
Her efforts have coincided with a growing local desire for public art, including the recent creation of a Mansfield Public Arts Commission this summer.
“I feel like once people see (art) … see it actually come to life, it gets more people on board with it. ‘Oh, now we can see how cool it is.’ Not everyone is a visual person. An idea may sound great.
“(But) when they actually see something going up on a wall and see how many people it brings to the area and how it revitalizes an area, it gets more people on board,” Pence said.
Pence has also launched her own downtown art studio at 41 E. 4th St., an ongoing project she said will be open for the Downtown Arts Festival on Sept. 18.
She laughs when asked about her long-term plans.
“I kind of feel like I’ve never been that great at long-term plans,” she said. “What’s happened in the last three years is really nothing I could have planned in no way, shape or form.
Pence, who lives in downtown Mansfield, credits local businesses, organizations and residents for supporting her art efforts. Anyone interested in talking to Pence about a project can contact her through Facebook, Instagram or email at allisonpence215@gmail.com.
“Even this summer, I had no idea so many big, fun projects would be coming my way. One project seems to lead to another,” she said.
“I like to grow and branch out and doing new things. I just never know what’s going to pop up next.”
