We recently connected with Amanda Durig and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I would say the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the one I’m starting to develop in my studio practice right now. The last few bodies of work have led me to this path and self-exploration. I’m currently looking inward more, reflecting on my childhood experiences, family dynamics and making work through that lens. It has allowed me to open up the way I make work as well as my thought process.

Amanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got interested in the arts as a young child. I was always making something and using my imagination to play pretend with my siblings and cousins. When it came time to choose a career, I chose art despite the stigma around it as a profession. I went to undergrad close to home and the revelatory moment in my education was talking my first Printmaking course. I was hooked, I added Print as a minor and kept taking classes. I integrated myself into the Print community, attending conferences and absorbing as much as I could. This process and way of making clicked in my head. Lots of steps, variables, and room to mess up- but the reward was worth the risk. Once I graduated I continued to make work independently but was feeling like I needed to go back to school so I could continue to pursue Printmaking further. I was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My work and way of making pivoted again while I was a graduate student. I quickly learned that I am not a “traditional” artist or printmaker, but rather mixed media in my approach to making. I would make prints and draw or paint on them, cut them out, use them as stencils in another drawing. Once I allowed myself to work freely in this way I realized that I had found my way of making that made the most sense to me. I also realized that I had chosen the right path. I absolutely loved teaching, the collaborative relationship that it fosters with students. It keeps things interesting as you’re always learning from your students just as much as they are learning from you.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My answer to this is somewhat short and simple, but meaningful. The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the experience. I would consider myself a sentimental person and collector of experiences, these mean more to me than awards. The opportunity to get to know new people, make connections or even lifelong friends through this medium has been extremely rewarding.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Yes! I have learned that many folks who are just starting out don’t know how to find opportunities to show their work. I didn’t know where to look until I was a graduate student. There are many places online now, but I think it’s important for young artists to know how to find calls, decipher the language in them and determine if their work is applicable. Another thing would be grants. More specifically, how to write grants!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amandajdurig.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manderrrjane/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.durig.1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadurig/

Image Credits
All images are my own and of my own artwork.