Alyson Davies: Art rooted in connection and nature at Lakewood Covenant Community Health Centre

A lifelong creative journey 

Raised in a family of makers, fixers and builders, Alyson Davies is a full-time artist whose creative roots run deep. 

“I’ve always been doing stuff with my hands,” she says. 

Alyson pursued her passion for making through formal education, earning her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta and a master of fine arts at Emily Carr University in Vancouver. Her artistic practice is diverse, spanning painting, ceramics and illustration. “My paintings are largely figurative — people in relationship to nature usually,” she says. Her ceramics are inspired by ritual and folk traditions, particularly Delft Blue Dutch pottery. She also creates tarot and oracle decks using a mix of cyanotype, gouache and pencil crayon. “Whatever I can get my hands on,” she says. 

A piece that invites reflection 

Alyson’s piece Field Friends at the Lakewood Covenant Community Health Centre is deeply personal yet intentionally open-ended. “I’ve heard different interpretations of what people think the relationship is between the people in the piece,” she says. “I don’t want to say exactly what my interpretation is because I want everyone to be able to see themselves in it or see who they need to see in it.” 

Inspired by a close relationship and her rural upbringing, the piece explores themes of connection, nature and the importance of slowing down. “It’s about taking moments to connect,” Alyson says. 

Art in a healing space 

Having her work displayed in a community health setting is a meaningful milestone for Alyson. “This is the first time that my work has been in a collection like this,” she says. “It’s just amazing that it will be seen by so many people.” 

Alyson hopes the piece offers a moment of peace and perspective for those who encounter it. “I don’t want to say it’s an escape, but it’s a nice place for people to go,” she says. “A reminder that there’s more than our lives in buildings and that we’re not alone.” 

Looking ahead 

Alyson is currently preparing for a residency this February in Medicine Hat, where she plans to return to ceramics after a recent focus on painting and travel sketching. “This summer I created a body of 10 new large-scale oil paintings,” she says. “They’re about women in the landscape, a landscape that has been touched by climate change.” 

With subtle hints like smoky pink skies, the series explores the resilience of both women and nature. “Mostly it’s just people outside, but there’s a quiet commentary there too,” she says. 

Through her work at Lakewood Covenant Community Health Centre and beyond, Alyson invites viewers to reflect and reconnect with nature, with others and with themselves.