..
... Amanda Museum ...
..

+Tiny Talent (1999-2001)
(click to open gallery)
.Most of the pictures in this gallery are from when Amanda was 4 and 5 years old. We thought the pictures were cute, and so we tried to write funny captions (which are maintained solely for their historical value). But, in hindsight, we can see the beginnings of the more mature talent she now exhibits...as well as an unusual interest in pregnancy and fetuses!
+Starting to really be an artist (2002-2007)
(click to open gallery)
.We gave up on the silly captions when her artwork got good enough to stand on its own.
+Middle School (2008-2009)
(click to open gallery)
.The Charleston County School for the Arts further sharpened her abilities.
+High School Freshman (2010-2011)
(click to open gallery)
.This gallery features some of the pictures she has posted at her DA Gallery.
+High School Sophomore (2011-2012)
(click to open gallery)
.Amanda has been making a lot of amazing art this year, but not giving us a chance to photograph or scan it. So, this gallery is a bit small.
+High School Junior (2012-2013)
(click to open gallery)
.This year Amanda was required to produce only 3-dimensional art. Her concentration was on hats based on buildings that she saw on our travels, but there are some other amazing pieces here as well.
-High School Senior (2013-2014)
.This year Amanda was required to produce pieces that count as "design". She eloquently captures the central theme of her portfolio in this essay written for to accompany AP submission:

While rummaging through my grandmother’s keepsakes, I came across a wooden block for printing the yellow portion of a landscape. Though seemingly insignificant, the block represented my late grandfather, and it sparked curiosity as to how this lone piece of a picture had value without its complementary blocks and subsequent colors. As a result, my concentration analyzes the sentimental value of objects, as well as how this value is affected when the object represents a larger concept or series.

To achieve this, I utilized an aspect of block prints generally avoided, that images misalign and overlap causing details and realism to be lost. In pieces 1, 2, 4,and 10, this print-like detail of the desired image being shifted, is meant to reveal the sentimental value that would have been hidden beneath. In 3 and 9, the photographs that triggered my memories more clearly convey their significance when details are lost, lost like the yellow block of the landscape print. In image 4, the porcelain fisherman is turned three quarters to the left and right to reveal the honest, hard working gardeners in a Japanese Zen garden I visited in Kyoto. Image 5 conveys the endless pleasure of just two children encountering just two chairs. The lack of color in the children emphasizes the chairs. Image 6 utilizes the appearance of a shift to the left of the colors in a single child’s clothing while they play. The objects of value in 7-10 are horses, stained glass windows, tutus, and yellow hats (worn by Japanese children on fieldtrips) respectively. Images 11 and 12 depict foreign children in uniforms first shifted down, and then contrasted by a hornet’s nest throwing into sharp relief the loss of individuality inherent in a dress code.

.

Bobby

Pen and watercolor, based on a picture of Robert Kasman as a small boy.

Cats of San Juan

We saw lots of feral cats on our trip to Puerto Rico, and many of them are in this drawing.

The Chinaman

You may recognize the statue as one that was in the home of Marty and Claire Kasman for many years. Amanda says: "the porcelain fisherman is turned three quarters to the left and right to reveal the honest, hard working gardeners in a Japanese Zen garden I visited in Kyoto".

Costa Rica Caballeros

Amanda added an image of a horse over a photo that Laura took on her trip to Costa Rica, but allows us to "see through" the horse via the white outlines.

Gwen Dancing

Watercolor painting based on a photo of Gwen Mayhew (back when she was Jenny David) in a dance studio.

Orney Visits Dr. Murk

The sizes in this photo are not exaggerated: Orney's doctor is very tall and she is very short. Amanda added color patches on acetate sheets that are overlayed with shifts and flips. So, this is only one of infinitely many possible combinations.

The Pool

Watercolor painting (with amazing details!) of baby Amanda in a wading pool.

The Rides

Combines two photos of Amanda on rides at amusement parks and one of her riding a hobby horse into a single very interesting painting.

Still Life

Two Joes

Combines two different pictures of Laura with her brothers Pete and Joe, in such a way that Joe appears at both ends.

Two Poses

We took two pictures of these Japanese students, and Amanda combined them.

Two Views

Buildings we saw in Spain and Japan overlaid in a single pen drawing.

Christmas Card

This was not part of her portfolio but for a request from her school to design a holiday card for the superintendant.

Grandma Mundschau

Young Laura and Joe with stuffed animals and their grandmother.

The Hornet's Nest

A hornet's nest superimposed on a picture of children we saw performing a dance at a public space in Spain.

Japanese Cat

This one involves some collage elements and stippling as well as watercolor painting.

Noses

This watercolor painting, based on a photo of Uncle Joe and Aunt Jan, unfortunately does not look very much like the "models", but has amazing skin tones and interesting noses.

Orney's Leaves

Amanda combines a black and white photo of her grandmother and friends with an image of leaves floating on water.

Roller Coaster

Amanda says it was fun painting the dragon head on this painting based on a photo of her and me on a kiddie-coaster.

Joe and the Seal

Uncle Joe again, this time at the zoo.

Two Girls and Two Chairs

Two quote Amanda, this image "conveys the endless pleasure of just two children encountering just two chairs. The lack of color in the children emphasizes the chairs."
!Art Conservation
Click on the link above to be taken to Amanda's online portfolio that presents her experience as an art conservation major at the University of Delaware (2013-2018).