Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Vaughan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amy , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I started out my career as an elementary school teacher, so I have a lot of respect and appreciation for educators. It’s a hard job. One thing that has always bothered me is how much time kids spend sitting down quietly. As an adult, I hate sitting down all day. It’s even worse for kids. Some schools are embracing things like yoga balls, but we still hold onto the model of desks and chairs dominating the floor space. I think kids should get multiple recesses a day and be able to move freely for most of the day. I wish students learned to embrace failure, rather than striving for perfection. So often in school, there is a “right” answer on a test or worksheet. To create great thinkers, scientists, artists, we should help kids embrace messy, complex learning processes with more ambiguous answers. They would be better prepared to take on big challenges in life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m just starting to put my work out into the world! I write and illustrate children’s books. I’ve always written and drawn for myself, but I have two children’s books coming out this year. Grandpa’s Toolbox: Tools A to Z is a very simple ABC book for early readers. Each page has a paper collage illustration of a hand tool or power tool with a brief description of what it does. My three-year-old son is obsessed with tools and how things work, so I wrote a book I thought he would love. I tried to keep the language and illustrations simple and accurate. It will be available on Amazon this year.

I’ve also written a book, Lickety Split, which Erik Roadfeldt, a talented caricature artist, is illustrating. The story placed in the 2023 Writer’s Digest competition. It’s so fun to see the artwork bring the story to life and add dimension to the text! It’s the story of Liam, a curious boy, who acts like a little scientist to answer a question that’s puzzling him.

In these early stages of my writing career, I’m proud for getting started and for following the projects through to completion. I started a writing and illustrating group with some like-minded friends about a year ago. The encouragement, feedback, and support has been invaluable.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to write books that kids will love to read. I’m trying to tap into the things that appeal to my son. He loves to know how things work, especially mechanical things like cars and tools. So many young children love to learn more about the people and things that are a part of their daily lives, so I’m exploring ways to bring a little magic to everyday items and routines. I want to write and illustrate books that are fun and that kids relate to.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s been so rewarding to get started and make writing and illustrating a part of my life. It’s something I wanted to do for so long, but I always came up with excuses not to. I’m just starting to put my work out into the world, and I don’t have a following yet, but doing the work for myself has already brought a lot of joy to my life. If you have that inner voice telling you to draw or write, go for it! Let go of the idea that you need to be great at it, let yourself be a beginner. The other thing I have enjoyed so much is my writer’s group. I highly recommend starting or finding a group of other people who are doing something similar. We keep each other motivated and uplifted in our creative pursuits.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amyvaughanstudio.com/

Image Credits
The tool images are paper collage created by me, Amy Vaughan. The dinosaur is a sketch by me, Amy Vaughan. I have rights to all images provided