Volunteer Spotlight - Mara Allison
Meet Mara Allison, the Vendor Committee Co-Chair of the Adobo Throwdown Cooking Competition and Food Expo.
Mara Yangson Allison is a professional ceramic artist and painter. Her art journey began when as a young child in the Philippines, she joined summer art camps and workshops. However, art was put on hold when she started a family in her early 20’s. The trauma of divorce and hardships of single motherhood brought her to the brink of despair, yet God remained faithful. God led her to a local church where she found a family of believers that showed her kindness and love. Around that time, her creativity also resurfaced. She explored ceramic classes that rekindled her God-given gift for art making. Faith and art pulled her back to the path of healing.
In 2006, Mara moved to Texas. She started working as an administrative assistant at the University of Texas Health Science Center while working on her certification to become a teacher. Once certified, she worked as an educator in the areas of art and special education for Northside ISD and North East ISD for ten years. Her dedication to her students did not go unnoticed. She received the Mentor of the Year Award for Special Schools for her service at the John C. Holmgreen Center, Northside ISD, and Educator of the Year at the Nellie Reddix School, Northside ISD.
Mara Allison
Even through life’s storms, Mara continued to trust in the Lord who provided for her family and restored her dreams of being a full time artist. Her sons grew up to be amazing young men and, in the spring of 2016, she married her best friend, Robert.
Mara’s challenging past made her who she is today—a loving wife, mother, friend, and artist. Her life is a testament to the goodness of God. She hopes to encourage everyone to see that our past does not define us and that we have the ability to change the trajectory of our life. Above all, we have a caring God who deeply loves us and understands our struggles.
In 2018, she finally took a leap of faith and left her teaching career to pursue her calling as a ceramicist and painter. It is her desire that her art would bring joy and beauty in people’s homes. Mara creates in her home studio. You can purchase her work at the River Art Gallery in San Antonio and at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery. Online, her work can be found on her website, maraallison.com, on Instagram mara.y.allison, and on Facebook Mara Yangson Allison Creations. She teaches ceramic workshops at the Oldschool Makerspace. Furthermore, she serves in the Single Moms Ministry at Mission City Church and as a board member for the Philippine American Chambers
of Commerce - Central Texas Region and for the San Antonio Potters Guild.
