I HEART

I WANTED TO SOUND COMPLETELY GENIUS WHEN WRITING ABOUT SONJA, BECAUSE I LOVE HER WORK...BUT WHEN I READ HER BIOGRAPHY, I REALIZED 2 THINGS. 1. I'M NOT GENIUS AND 2. SHE IS. I THOUGHT I WOULD PUT HER BIO ON MY BLOG...BECAUSE IT'S THAT GOOD. FIND HER WORK AT MAKEITAWESOME.COM 
SONJA AHLERS WAS BORN THE SAME YEAR AS JONI MITCHELL'S BLUE. HER MOTHER ALMOST NAMED HER AFTER THAT ALBUM. SHE WON ALL THE COLORING CONTESTS 'TIL HER FATHER CALLED THE SCHOOL TO SAY THEY WERE TEACHING 'CONFORMITY'. BECAME A DURANIE IN 82/83. GOT CAUGHT SHOPLIFTING. HAD TO GO TO CHURCH. STOPPED MAKING ART IN HIGH SCHOOL AND B/C OF BOYS AND CLOTHES BUT WAS MORE OBSESSED WITH DRAMA CLUB. WAS IN PROGRAM FOR 'GIFTED CHILDREN'. DROPPED IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL THROUGH EARLY TWENTIES ATTENDING ROCK CONCERTS ALL THE WAY. BY MID-TWENTIES AFTER A TRAUMATIC EVENT STARTED MAKING ART AGAIN. SHE MADE TINY BOOKS AND OBJECTS AND INVENTED THE FIERCE BUNNY AS WELL AS AMASSING A LARGE GROUP OF PENPALS. SHE DEVELOPED A STYLE OF DRAWING, WRITING AND COLLAGE SIMILAR TO THAT OF A DJ-SAMPLING AND MASHING FRAGMENTS.
HER WORK CONTINUED TO SNOWBALL FROM PHOTOCOPIED BOOKS TO A PUBLISHED GRAPHIC NOVEL ENTITLED TEMPER, TEMPER(INSOMNIAC PRESS, 1998). THIS MADE THE TOP TEN LIST OF ONE OF HER IDOLS AND HAS BECOME A 'CULT CLASSIC'(NOT HER WORDS). AHLERS HAD HER FIRST SOLO SHOW IN 2000 CALLED EVERYTHING I OWN IS IN THIS ROOM FOR WHICH SHE WAS AWARDED A GRANT FROM THE BC ARTS COUNCIL. SHE CONTINUES TO SHOW HER WORK RUNNIN THE GAMUT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES FROM HAIR LOUNGES TO ARTIST-RUN-CENTERS. THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN LA IS NOW CARRYING HER STUFF. SHE WAS ALMOST IN VOGUE. SHE SUPPORTS THE STOP COOL MOVEMENT AND MAKEITAWESOME.COM. SHE KEEPS ALL HER REJECTION LETTERS AND IS UP FOR A SLOW BURN.