Amanda’s work has roots in garden landscapes and perception of experience through visual cues. With a love for gardening and a curious mind, her work combines elements from experienced reality, memory, and the fuzzy image one’s mind creates when retrieving a memory. “Observation and lived experience are an important part of my work as it allows me to process the stimuli of the environment I place myself in. My work is evidence of this process, as I use different mediums to create a visual vocabulary of color and marks, evoking this mental process that is different for everyone. The viewer experiences a snapshot of something I have experienced, and in turn creates a new image in their mind when viewing the work.”

This body of work continues this idea. However, while making it over the past year, I have thought a lot about the outdoor spaces I grew up in. I grew in the garden alongside the peas and tomatoes, my hands and feet covered in earth. I long for reliving those memories in my mind. I have come to realize that as an adult, and miles away from home, that I have found comfort and solace in spaces and environments that remind me of home. In these works, I am not seeking to answer any questions about my childhood, but rather recreate those feelings when I am triggered by my new home environment. I often revisit places on my walking routes similarly to how one would retrieve a memory. I think a lot about all these spaces and my connection to them; my connection to my family members and how they tended to their gardens as well.