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 queer woman 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. Like the women who taught me, I create modular motifs between tasks: while waiting in doctor’s offices, on hold with the bank, in line at the DMV, etc. After collecting many motifs, I organically assemble the individual units and harden the resulting fabric to create sculptural forms. The forms celebrate the multitude of patterns that shape human experience and the endless ways the environment can change to produce a shared reality. Making art in this way also elevates the process of creation to an act of public performance, encouraging 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 and author 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 government agencies, publish in academic and professional journals, and exhibit art in galleries across the United States. Amanda currently serves as Chapter Director for the National Women’s Caucus for Art and works from her sensory-friendly home studio.