Artist Allison Aiken and her daughters. Courtesy photo

Art work by Allison Aiken on display at the Los Alamos Co-Op Market. Courtesy photo

Some of the acrylic works by Allison Aiken on display at the Los Alamos Co-Op Market through the end of the month. Courtesy photo

LOS ALAMOS CO-OP MARKET NEWS RELEASE

Head to the Los Alamos Co-Op Market to see the current art exhibit in the café, lively floral and other nature-inspired works by scientist and local artist Allison Aiken.

Hailing originally from Central Florida, Aiken has been interested in both arts and science for as long as she can remember.

“Our family has an interest in art, and I always wanted to be a scientist as well. Whenever I would go out into the field, in high school, in college, my [science] notebooks always had drawings,” she said.

Her hometown of Winter Park hosts one of the longest-standing juried art festivals in the country.

“That influenced me, not just the bright and vibrant colors in Florida, but this art show, which we went to every year,” Aiken said.

Aiken first came to Los Alamos as a summer undergraduate student. After graduate work and a post-doc in Europe, she returned to Los Alamos in 2010; she lives in town with her husband and young daughters, and works at LANL in the field of earth sciences.

“I have extra energy, and want to share my eye, how I see things, to see if it resonates with other people. With this show at the Co-Op I’m trying to gauge people’s interest,” Aiken said.

Without much formal training in art, Aiken shies away from working in oil, but has embraced acrylic, pen-and-ink, and watercolor.

“I’ve always felt like painting is what I’m supposed to be doing in terms of my art,” she says.

All pieces are original, one-of-a-kind artworks, and are available for sale. The show will be up at the Co-Op through the end of November. For more information about Allison Aiken and her art, visit https://www.allisonaiken.com/

The Los Alamos Co-Op offers daily breakfast burritos, hot bar (11am-2pm), salad bar (11am-5pm), healthy grab-and-go foods, and a wide selection of natural, local, and organic pantry and grocery items. For this week’s deli menu, visit https://losalamos.coop/deli-catering/

“The Los Alamos Cooperative Market: The Heart of the Community at the Edge of Town” https://losalamos.coop/   Located at 95 Entrada Drive, Los Alamos. Mon-Sat 8am-7pm, Sun 9am-7pm.