Francie Allen

Francie Allen grew up in Gilford, a picturesque New Hampshire village that drew educated, visionary people to live their ideals after WWII. Their pioneering spirit and vibrant sense of community deeply shaped her values. Civil rights activities including marching with Martin Luther King prefigured her lifelong commitment to healing the planet and its peoples.

In the early 1970s, Francie moved to Seattle. As a graduate sculpture student at UW School of Art, she unexpectedly found her greatest inspiration working with Dance Department head, Joan Skinner. Francie is a versatile educator, from college teaching to designing school programs in visual thinking to environmental education. In her art she strives to connect viewers with the miracle of being embodied. Her lifesize figures reorient the viewer, inviting a fresh perspective. Her installations disarm habitual responses to the physical world and offer a new relationship to the body/mind.

Francie received 2017 GAP Award funding to create a video documentation of her work to share with a larger audience. Francie will take video/editing training through Bellingham’s public access television, which includes use of their equipment. Video training and website redesign will both include fees for social media consultation.