Amanda Shopa

Film Photography & Fiber Arts

Category: Artmaking

  • Art Making and a Circular Economy

    Art Making and a Circular Economy

    This project got me thinking about the circular economy and art making, because so many bits of this work depended on someone else’s help.

  • Spinning (a) Yarn: Why I Hated Doing the 100 Day Project

    Spinning (a) Yarn: Why I Hated Doing the 100 Day Project

    I tried the 100 Day Project. And it turns out I hated it.

  • What I’ve Learned from One Year of Consistent Darkroom Work

    What I’ve Learned from One Year of Consistent Darkroom Work

    I consciously stepped away from art making for three months to recuperate. Three months turned into something much longer, and even when I felt ready, I had a difficult time returning to my studio practice. When I went to make my first postcard for the 209 Weeks project, I hadn’t been in the darkroom for…

  • Showing Fire in Black and White

    Showing Fire in Black and White

    One of the reasons I love black-and-white photography is because of the decision making that comes into play; one of the frustrating things about black-and-white photography is the decision making that comes into play. Last year I visited Pacem in Terris during their bonfire weekend. Usually visits to Pacem are a very solitary event, but…

  • From Book Thief to Pinhole Camera Maker

    From Book Thief to Pinhole Camera Maker

    In junior high, I was a book thief. The school library had checkout limits, and I wanted more photography books than I was allowed to bring home. So I slipped the books in my backpack, then left the library through a second door we weren’t supposed to use. I always returned the books when I…

  • Where Has All the 4 by 6 Paper Gone?

    As I described in my previous post, there are a lot of moving parts to making a photographic postcard. I thought I had figured out my postcard plan for the 209 Weeks art project—resin coated 4 by 6 paper, RC-friendly mounting tissue, and cardstock that would easily take a rubber stamp. All I needed was…

  • The Moving Parts of a Photography Project

    The Moving Parts of a Photography Project

    Back in the 90s, I occasionally sent friends photo postcards. I used stick-on postcard backs, which make the photos a little stiffer and postcard like, or I just drew a vertical line down the back of a regular photo lab photo, addressed it, and threw a stamp on it. Now, thirty years later, I’ve come…

  • 372 Days

    372 Days

    Today I got in my darkroom for the first time in over a year. I made a lot of dumb mistakes, and wasted a lot of paper, but today I got in my darkroom for the first time in over a year.

  • Dating My Inner Artist

    Dating My Inner Artist

    I’ve spent the last several months taking a creative break, creative sabbatical, creative rest. I haven’t been making or doing anything. I’ve allowed myself to completely give up my artistic practices. I have been going on artist’s dates.

  • Seeking Creative Rest

    Seeking Creative Rest

    I successfully defended my dissertation a few weeks ago. I am now “Doctor.” The defense went wonderfully, and it was a really positive end to a very long… experience. (I hate the word “journey” when used to describe doctoral programs.) I thought after I finished my dissertation, I would have a lot more time to…