Allie Patterson ’25, an art major with a minor in entrepreneurship, enrolled in a work-study program at Arrowmont School of Art and Craft in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to expand her creative practice. This fall, she will continue her studies as a graduate student at the University of Hartford.
Her grandmother, the other artist in the family, nurtured Allie from an early age. “Since I was a kid, I have always liked painting with my grandma in the art room on the top floor of her barn,” she says. “She taught me to bring pictures to life with paint and sparked within me an early love for everything creative.”
At Berry, Allie acquired skills that transformed her passion into a profession. “I decided to minor in entrepreneurship because I was always interested in sharing my art with the world in a way that allows me to interact with the people,” she notes.
Personal connections are at the heart of Allie’s work. Her senior thesis, supported by a Richards Undergraduate Research Grant, explored themes of identity and relationship through ceramics and textiles.
“During my pre-thesis class, I was beginning to experiment with character forms and the relationships people have with themselves and others,” she explains. “For my thesis, I decided to come back to this idea and incorporate fabrics that I inherited from my grandpa after he passed in 2024. The legacy that he left behind for all his grandchildren was to pursue the things in this world that you love, as he once did in his life. By including his shirts in my work, I feel like I’m letting him know that I have done what he asked.”
Through Berry’s LifeWorks program, Allie received real-world job experience that benefited her business.
“While working as a social media manager on campus, I feel like I had the freedom to try new modes of promoting art and sharing it with other students at Berry,” she says. “Being able to effectively build an online presence is something I believe will be widely helpful in my professional career as I grow as an artist and seek to share my work with more people.”
Mentorship also played a key role in her development. Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Dennis Ritter, Allie found her footing in the professional art world.
“He showed me that a career in doing the things I love is more than just possible, and his guidance has shown me how to find both my voice and style in the art world,” she says. “I am also grateful for the opportunities like Arrowmont and the University of Hartford that he has shared, which will facilitate two major steps forward in my career.”
Reflecting on her Berry Journey, Allie emphasizes the impact of community: “Berry helped me find my people in this world and helped me find who I wanted to be as a person. Through all the ups and downs, I could not imagine spending the last four years anywhere else.”
