Hi! My name is Aliya (she/they) and I am an artist, artisan, educator, and naturalist. I live with my incredible spouse and two very helpful cats in Portland, Oregon. I recently completed my Oregon Naturalist Certification.

I teach sewing classes at Modern Domestic and offer private lessons in a variety of arts and crafts for kids and adults. I especially love to work with beginners of all ages and adults looking to heal from a lifetime of perfectionism. Read more about my approach to teaching and my commitment to inclusion and accessibility.

I am always seeking new mediums and handicrafts to add to my creative repertoire. Recent foci include film photography and darkroom printing, sewing, knitting, crochet, wood carving, weaving, needlework, book binding, nature journaling, sketching, and painting—just to name a few.

curriculum vitae

currently learning: inkle loom weaving; risograph printing

why extradisciplinary?

I initially created extradisciplinary as an outlet for my academic research about the cultures of scientific disciplines that shape who becomes a scientist and the knowledge they produce. (For more information about my research, please visit my academic website). I was fascinated by the countless structural, economic, and cultural factors that pressure scientists to become hyperspecialized when the most important global issues of our time require that we think and engage beyond established disciplines.

We can see similar forces at work throughout Western society—including creative spheres—in the prominence of hustle/grind culture, the pressure to curate a neat and cohesive brand, and the need to constantly produce to make ends meet. There is little room for thinking and creating simply to satisfy curiosity or for the joy of learning, little time for slow experiences and organic development, and too little energy to spare on connection and community engagement at the end of a long day.

As I transitioned out of academia, I realized that the term extradisciplinary is an apt description for how I approach all facets of my life, not just my intellectual work. Here is what extradisciplinary means to me in the context of my creative practice:

thinking, creating, and engaging beyond established boundaries

resisting models of success that hinge on specialization, productivity and urgency, staying “on brand,” gatekeeping expertise, and other means of containment and isolation

prioritizing curiosity, creative experimentation, sustainability, communal and cultural knowledge, and integrating manifold ways of knowing the world

embracing the complexity, contradictions, tensions, imperfections, vulnerability, and uncertainty that come with expansive and sustained engagement