Read the New Book!
Give and Take:
Motherhood and Creative Practice
Edited by: Tara Carpenter Estrada,
Katie Palfreyman, and Hilary Wolfley
Give and Take offers personal narratives from artist mothers at all stages in their careers who work in multidisciplinary mediums about the “ give and take” of motherhood in the art world. The collection of essays addresses relatable topics and essential vocabulary as tools to describe phenomena all artist mothers have experienced. Readers will easily be able to see themselves in the authors' words.
Artist Statement:
I use found objects, natural fibers, paper, wood, metal, plaster, and paint to produce multidisciplinary work that speaks to my experience as a feminist living in the Southern United States. Combining traditional fiber art techniques with found objects allows me to honor an inherited legacy of creative reuse while subverting oppressive traditional value systems. I transform the context of my materials through experiments with scale and composition that offer a new perspective for how to build a sustainable and inclusive reality.
My current practice draws inspiration from Irish crochet techniques passed down through families displaced by colonization and famine. I organically assemble individual motifs to create sculptural forms that celebrate the multitude of patterns shaping human experience and the endless ways the environment can change to produce a shared reality. Making art in this way encourages curiosity about intersectional identities typically hidden by patriarchal standards around respectability and class.
In addition to my crochet work, I produce co-created social practice installations addressing literacy, skill sharing, and mutual aid. These installations encourage viewers to actively participate in and interact with the art to share experiential knowledge across social boundaries. The co-created pieces inspire everyone involved to think critically about how societal perceptions form and explore practical ways of meeting diverse community needs.
Bio:
Amanda is a multidisciplinary artist, author, and parent local to Huntsville, AL. She graduated with honors from the University of Alabama in Huntsville where she received multiple awards for her work merging artistic techniques with engineering principles. Her unique perspective has opened doors to work with the NSF and NASA, publish in academic and professional journals, and exhibit art in galleries across the United States. Amanda also serves as Chapter Director for the National Women’s Caucus for Art and works from her sensory-friendly home studio.