amy friend

AMY FRIEND ANSWERS OUR TOP 6 QUESTIONS:

what medium do you work in?
I currently work (mostly) photographically, although I paint, sew, and work with a variety of materials. I do not like to limit myself.

what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
I think I would like to be asked about when I "became" an artist, because I realize (now) that I have been creating work for a while that relates to the way I played and discovered as a child. Maybe this should be obvious or classified in the "influences" portion of where we find inspiration but I think we underestimate the significance of these memories, discoveries and "play" for lack of a better way to articulate all that happens when we allow ourselves to be immersed in something whole heartedly. In my process I still explore in a similar way, so I must have been "making" art since I was a little girl.


Why Art?
Honestly, I had no choice. It stuck to me and never left. It is a heartbeat.


Who or what inspires you?
Water, dirt, clouds, nostalgia, memories, death, time, stars, dust, beauty, travel, history, blood, wabi-sabi, stories, bones, bodies, tadpoles, the invisible...
So many artists influence my work it is crazy.

Any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
It may be simple but trust yourself and go for it. Don't be afraid to fail the most wonderful things happen sometimes, yes, sometimes.
I love the unexpected that often seeps into my work.

Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
I think there was a time where I shied away from revealing too much about my work. Now I am less hesitant. It is what it is and I like to share the stories of what I make.

UPCOMING SHOW

A bit of information on the upcoming show at Loose Canon.

I was approached by Brad Isaac to do a show on the premise of representation and abstraction. We looked though some work and it started from there.
I will be showing with painter Katie Pretti.
I am showing several photographs I took when I washed my Nonna's bedding in the river near my childhood home and potentially new photographic work from the same river.


LOOSE CANON
July 7th-31st

psychic space

Brad Isaacs, curating

Amy Friend

Katie Pretti

An examination of the tension between representation and abstraction
through the work of photographer Amy Friend and painter Katie Pretti

Amy Friend is an artist and educator from Windsor, Ontario. She began her undergraduate education at the Ontario College of Art and Design before leaving her formal educational to embark on intermittent travels through areas of Europe, Morocco, Cuba, and the US. After a seven-year hiatus she continued her education at York University receiving a BFA Honors Degree and a BEd degree. In 2008 she completed her MFA Degree from the University of Windsor and was awarded a Social Science and Humanities Grant as well as an Ontario Graduate Scholarship. She currently teaches at Brock University.

Her photographic work was selected for the Magenta Flash Forward Photography Competition in 2008 and was recently featured in Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine. Her latest exhibitions were held at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and Ross Creek Centre for Arts in Nova Scotia.Amy’s current work is primarily photographic in practice but she experiments with her imagery using a variety of materials and methods.

published with permission
amy friend