Local Artist Spotlight: Get to know Amy M. Bennett

Amy M. Bennett is a Hillsboro-based letter artist known for her bold designs and pushing the boundaries of traditional lettering.

How long have you been an artist? It feels like all my life, even though it hasn’t always been linear. My mom was an artist, so creativity was encouraged when I was growing up, and led me to study graphic design and art history in college. I took a detour into the corporate world, only to come to the foregone conclusion that I was so much happier when I was engaged directly with art. In 2014, I shifted to a full-time studio practice that is focused on text-based work.

Describe your art practice? There is a fair amount of ruminating before I even start sketching. Once an idea takes shape, my process begins with pencil sketches of a chosen quote, inventing lettershapes and refining the composition as I go. Most of my finished work is hand-cut paper, though I also work in graphite and ink. When making a piece of cut paper art, the leftover scraps rarely go to waste. They have a way of suggesting their own compositions that refer to the original work.

Where do your ideas come from? What materials inspire you? I am a magpie for visual and verbal fragments. On my daily walks, I might observe a twig that resembles a letter, see a splash of water on the sidewalk that mimics handwriting, or hear a snippet of a song lyric that gets stuck in my head. I am constantly gathering these potential shapes, forms, and language, and filing them away for later reinterpretation in my studio.

I am attracted to cut paper because it is deceptively fragile in appearance but surprisingly strong and durable. What I appreciate most is the range of options it offers, from lying completely flat against a surface to being manipulated in unexpected ways that play with light and shadow.

How do you incorporate art into your daily life? There is no clear boundary between my art practice and my daily life; one flows naturally into the other. My day typically begins in the studio with a cup of coffee, listening to music and either studying art, sketching, or finishing a piece. I have even been known to plan a vacation around museums and galleries.

Are there new materials/mediums, techniques, or themes you are working on? I recently designed a laser-cut metal sculpture and was struck by how the process took my ideas off of the paper into the realm of physical form. It’s a direction I’m looking forward to exploring further.

Any upcoming shows where people can see your work in person? I will be participating in the 6th Annual Paper Invitational at the Alberta Street Gallery from April 30–May 25. This group exhibition celebrates the imaginative possibilities of paper art from a variety of local artists.

To see more of Amy’s work, visit: www.amymarlenebennett.com

Amy Mower is a local artist and lifelong Beaverton resident. She is passionate about the future of the arts in our community.