AMY SHAMANSKY

Amy finds joy in painting through exploration, play, and experimentation. She uses her intuition to lay down line, color, texture, and shape, adding and subtracting any of those elements until something appears that captures her interest. She will begin to develop the emerging image in relationship to the background, using sensitivity to explore what the image needs to "be happy" in its environment. If the dance is successful, the image stays. If not, exploration resumes. For Amy, the "failure" of an image is another important layer, helping to create atmosphere for whatever new image comes along. Sometimes, she will "impose" an image on an abstract underpainting, but again, the image only stays if it integrates successfully with its surroundings. The relationship between image and background is very important as it helps her explore the ideas of being seen, worthiness, belonging, and individuality. Amy is constantly using her art to challenge what successful integration looks like for..