While Amy was obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts, a myth was circulating the art classroom hallways. The myth was that you have to become an ego-centric human to become a well-known, professional artist.

Logically speaking, she knew this was only a myth, and in fact knew and still knows today, many generous and hospitable, successful artists. However, this idea of living a life of helping others and building community became a focal point in the pursuit of a purposeful career. The Fire Service had been of interest to her since childhood, and she soon found it to be a challenging and rewarding job. And so she began navigating time and energy between becoming a Firefighter and being an Artist.

She started as a Volunteer Firefighter in 2012 and became a Full Time Career Firefighter in 2016 near Austin, TX. In 2017, Amy decided to leave Texas and move back to her home-state of Colorado, where she continues to work today as a Firefighter/EMT and Fire Inspector, while also growing deeper in the discipline of being an Artist.

The ability to create is a gift that artists can give to others, and by doing so, has immense purpose in its’ own unique way. It is a gift to others as it serves and provides an experience of space, feeling, and reflection on ones own spirit. Through her professional experiences as a Graphic Designer, Artist, and Firefighter, she has gained stories, memories, skills, discipline, and empathy, that influences her work today.

In her series, Topographic Shapeshift, she was inspired by maps and the winding road that her life has taken her on thus-far. The work displays the reality that life is built upon different stages of life and circumstances. Through layers of shapes, colors, textures, and topographical features of cut-up maps, the top surface layer represents the most current state of life’s journey to the viewer.

In the series, Life in Fire, Amy is exploring how to represent objects, people, and scenes from the First Responder world, and give the viewer glimpses into the life of a Firefighter. For instance, through the simplistic view of scenery observed during a 2 hour commute to “going on shift,” to water discharge piping on a Fire Engine. Being a Firefighter is a unique trade - full of inside terminology, culture, tools, skills, procedures, routines, and both hellish and beautiful realities.

Growing up near both the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, Amy has been inspired by the grace and complexity of nature since childhood. Both vibrant and dull earthy colors that are reflected in nature at different times of light, and landscapes from different vantage points, are common themes of exploration, as seen in her work, Flyover Series.

Motivated by resistance of being personally oversimplified or categorize into one box - Amy gives her creativity the freedom to vary in style, content and materials. While her work varies, there is one commonality between the works - the same hands that created them.