..
... Amanda Museum ...
..

-Tiny Talent (1999-2001)
.Most of the pictures in this gallery are from when Amanda was 4 and 5 years old. We thought the pictures were cute, and so we tried to write funny captions (which are maintained solely for their historical value). But, in hindsight, we can see the beginnings of the more mature talent she now exhibits...as well as an unusual interest in pregnancy and fetuses!

Mardi Gras

The centerpiece of the New Millenium Gallery on the old website was this spectacular pencil drawing of a woman with blonde hair, holding a candle and wearing a Mardi Gras mask. I won't insult you by explaining the beautiful and deep symbolism here, but I will give one hint: note the cavities in her teeth!!

Car Flies

Let this mixed media (crayon and marker) drawing take you to another world where the smiles of cats and suns are enough to levitate an entire car! ``Mind bending and spectacular'' says the Children's art columnist of the San Francisco Times-Observer.

new Family Member

Amanda practically creates a whole new art form with this minimally colored, but heavily labeled pencil drawing of a fetus (seen beneath the word `baby', attached by its umbilical cord to a bone) surrounded by the friends and family whom it will encounter after birth. The subtle tension of this picture derives from the fact that (as no bodies are shown) we are unable to tell WHOSE tummy the baby is in! Is it Flora, Navy, Mark or the dog?!? We may never know.

The Artist's Hand

Here we see a bit of the playful creativity that has made `Amanda' a legend in the Paris art scene...what could otherwise have been a typical drawing of a giraffe is changed into a delightful self-referential statement by the inclusion of the artist's own hand on the drawing.

Mother of Two

An obviously pregnant woman pushes a baby in a swing as a mother cat and two kittens walk by. Pen and crayon.

Momma Bird

This line drawing shows a mother bird and her chick. Take special notice of the egg and nest perched in the apple tree!

Expecting

With just a few simple strokes, this drawing conveys the contented feeling of a mother-to-be. Probably originally designed as part of a logo for a popular maternity clothing chain, this drawing was simply found unsigned and untitled among the artist's sketches.

Girl in Rain

A stunning combination of colored pencil and crayon make this one of Amanda's most impressive and moving pictures.

Boy in Rain

This sequel to Amanda's very popular "Girl in Rain" has shocked the art world with its `honest' portrayal of the typical `every-boy' standing - hands in pocket - beneath his personal rain cloud.

Rockin Robin

As a result of the blending of colored pencils, this rotund robin bursts into rocking life.

Mommy and Baby Unicorn

An annotation on the back dates this piece as having been completed on March 12, 2000. It also indicates that Tired (the baby) and Hungry (the mother) are going to take a bath in the rain.

Mother's Day Bunny

Done for her mom's fourth Mother's Day, Amanda asked her dad to draw the outline of the "4th", but did everything else here herself, including the words "Mother's Day" which run down the rabbit's side.

Ducks

The bright colors of oil pastels enhance this emotional image of a mother duck teaching her baby to swim.

Cubist Horse

This simple drawing (dark blue crayon) skillfully combines aspects of impressionism, cubism and the optical game-playing of M.C. Escher.

Pink Bunny

Crayon and pen on pink construction paper. (Dated 5/2000.)

Happy Cat

Amanda's most famous piece, this unsigned crayon drawing contains the letters C-A-T in the artist's own hand.

Abstract #1

I can't find any words to describe this colorful masterpiece other than "Magnifique"! (Dated 5/2000.)

Pigs, Mouse and Fox

Though beautiful to look at, the real beauty of this pencil drawing is in its deep symbolism. At first we notice two pigs (one in blue with hat and one wearing orange dress.) But, when looking more closely we see that the mouse (at right) is wearing a mask ("so bees don't bite you") and carrying a box of tissues for the fox (who has a cold and looks like an orange flag.) The fox is also wearing a yellow dress. Only the pig in blue is a boy; the other three have bows in their hair.

Laughing Witch

Dated March 12, 2000, this line drawing (pencil) shows a witch taking a plate that was hers and laughing. Why is she laughing? Because she hasn't seen the plate in a long time and she is glad that she found it, of course!

Girl with Net

This crayon drawing, done 6/2000, shows a girl holding a ball in her right hand and a net in her left hand, for catching the ball. When asked about the mysterious letter L floating at the left of the picture, Amanda explained that it is for the girl's name, `ELLA'.

+Starting to really be an artist (2002-2007)
(click to open gallery)
.We gave up on the silly captions when her artwork got good enough to stand on its own.
+Middle School (2008-2009)
(click to open gallery)
.The Charleston County School for the Arts further sharpened her abilities.
+High School Freshman (2010-2011)
(click to open gallery)
.This gallery features some of the pictures she has posted at her DA Gallery.
+High School Sophomore (2011-2012)
(click to open gallery)
.Amanda has been making a lot of amazing art this year, but not giving us a chance to photograph or scan it. So, this gallery is a bit small.
+High School Junior (2012-2013)
(click to open gallery)
.This year Amanda was required to produce only 3-dimensional art. Her concentration was on hats based on buildings that she saw on our travels, but there are some other amazing pieces here as well.
+High School Senior (2013-2014)
(click to open gallery)
.This year Amanda was required to produce pieces that count as "design". She eloquently captures the central theme of her portfolio in this essay written for to accompany AP submission:

While rummaging through my grandmother’s keepsakes, I came across a wooden block for printing the yellow portion of a landscape. Though seemingly insignificant, the block represented my late grandfather, and it sparked curiosity as to how this lone piece of a picture had value without its complementary blocks and subsequent colors. As a result, my concentration analyzes the sentimental value of objects, as well as how this value is affected when the object represents a larger concept or series.

To achieve this, I utilized an aspect of block prints generally avoided, that images misalign and overlap causing details and realism to be lost. In pieces 1, 2, 4,and 10, this print-like detail of the desired image being shifted, is meant to reveal the sentimental value that would have been hidden beneath. In 3 and 9, the photographs that triggered my memories more clearly convey their significance when details are lost, lost like the yellow block of the landscape print. In image 4, the porcelain fisherman is turned three quarters to the left and right to reveal the honest, hard working gardeners in a Japanese Zen garden I visited in Kyoto. Image 5 conveys the endless pleasure of just two children encountering just two chairs. The lack of color in the children emphasizes the chairs. Image 6 utilizes the appearance of a shift to the left of the colors in a single child’s clothing while they play. The objects of value in 7-10 are horses, stained glass windows, tutus, and yellow hats (worn by Japanese children on fieldtrips) respectively. Images 11 and 12 depict foreign children in uniforms first shifted down, and then contrasted by a hornet’s nest throwing into sharp relief the loss of individuality inherent in a dress code.

.

!Art Conservation
Click on the link above to be taken to Amanda's online portfolio that presents her experience as an art conservation major at the University of Delaware (2013-2018).