Spotlight on AmandaMay.Etsy.com

Today we have artist Amanda Wright on the blog with us. She has written a lovely piece "bio" style, giving us a little something different for this week.

You can see Amanda's work by visiting here Etsy shop at: www.amandamay.etsy.com
or on her main Web site: www.wrightarts.com

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I have always been an artist, probably because all my family is (grandparents were silversmiths, other grandmother painted, parents are Waldorf teachers so they do everything!). When I was little I would load my drawings up into my little red wagon and head off down the road in an attempt to sell them off to the neighbors at 10 cents a pop. That idea was somewhat frowned upon by my mother, but I guess I understood at an early age that to survive as an artist one must promote fearlessly! Unfortunately for my finances, I lost that drive to sell at some point, in favor of the romantic notion of "art for the sake of art". Recently I have been trying to reconcile the two, and came upon Etsy as a means of joining in an artistic community while promoting my work and learning how to sell.

My current job is at an art gallery where one of my projects has been to further DIY and handmade with periodic craft fairs. One of the regular vendors led me to Etsy, and after some time hovering on the edges, I finally listed a few items this September. I began with high hopes, listing a group of original paintings. I didn't really expect them to sell - as I mentioned I work at an art gallery and so I am realistic about sales (or lack thereof) of fine art. I am ever-hopeful, however, so I plan to continue listing original pieces. In addition I want to expand my shop to include all the myriad other things I enjoy creating. Right now, needle-felted dolls, crocheted rag rugs, embroidered patchwork pieces and an assortment of paper-dolls are all in the works.

I am inspired by human beings. I know this is really broad, but since I was tiny people have been my favorite subject. My mother claims I drew people from the time I could hold a pencil, and now that I have learned to think somewhat more abstractly, I like to think that my range of expression has grown as well. I am also inspired by color, but am in a process of trying to understand exactly how the effect colors have on me is translated into the pieces I create. It is all so mysterious and I think that that is why I just can't stop!

You ask how Etsy fits into my daily life/routine. Well, currently Etsy is in danger of overwhelming my daily life. I am trying to control myself, but with so much to see, so much inspiration to be found, and so darn many ways to look, I have to admit to something of an addiction. That said, I am trying to control myself and keep the Etsy hours to a quick check in the morning and a longer foray into the fora in the evening, with shop maintenance and inventory additions when necessary. I have no sales so far, so getting packages shipped off isn't an issue. I'll deal with that when it arrives, I guess!

I show my work on flickr and on my personal website which includes a blog. Part of my "real" job is designing and building websites for artists and small businesses, so I also work on my own site myself. Naturally this means that it is always a work in progress. I also have a blog to which I post nearly every day. I see my site, my blog, Etsy, as ways to begin a serious relationship with my art/craft. My dream has always been to have a boutique or "one of a kind" shop, and so I feel that these are small learning steps towards that goal.

My new favorite pastime is creating these little needlefelted dolls and the little lady is my current sweetheart! She is going to be acquiring a cape of some sort, but this is the picture I have right now. I also am pretty proud of this little old man. He has a wife, but her hair is just not cooperating so she refuses to go out in public!

Thank you so much for allowing me to ramble on about myself. I think my favorite part of Etsy so far has been the glimpses it allows into the lives of other artists, artisans and crafters around the world, and the connections that can be made in this way. At a time when the world just keeps feeling smaller and smaller, it is so important that this shrinking happens in positive ways and I think Etsy is doing a great job at encouraging people in this direction!

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Keep up with Amanda by checking out her blog: www.wrightarts.com/blog/blog