Artist Statement
For me, making art is an act of hope.
Everyday, I try to be a conscious observer of my world, and approach this task with a great amount of curiosity and wonder. I hope that the things I make will be at once familiar and foreign. That through a process of distillation, the ideas or materials will intrinsically take on a new meaning. A shift in aesthetic value offers a shift in perspective, a slightly askew view that relates to our everyday.
Biography
Amanda was born in Barrie, Ontario, Canada and currently lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. She studied marine biology at Dalhousie University for a year before enrolling at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1995. In 1997, Schoppel participated in an exchange program at the Chelsea College of Art in London, England. She received a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1998, and an MFA degree at the University of California, Davis in 2006. She has taken part in several exhibitions held throughout Canada, Europe, and the United States. During the summer of 2001, Amanda represented Canada, in the sculpture competition, at the IV Jeux de la Francophonie. In 2005 she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, USA and participated in a residency at Taliesin West; The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture in 2006. The National and Provincial Art Collections of Canada have collected numerous works by Schoppel.
About Amanda
I am the daughter of creative parents in the fields of Science; a Veterinarian/Wood Carver and Registered Nurse/Poet. I grew up straddling life in the city, and life on the farm in Ontario, Canada.
At Dalhousie University, in Halifax Nova Scotia, I began my studies in Marine Biology. In my first year at Dalhousie, I found Art. And never looked back! I transferred to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where I enjoyed many exceptional experiences; hiking and kayaking in and around the Ocean, beautiful friendships, and the beginnings of a strong, challenging career in Art. I am so thankful and honoured, to have participated in art programs and residencies around the world. Some highlights include representing Canada in the sculpture competition at the IV Jeux de la Francophonie, being awarded a full scholarship to the MFA program at the University of California, Davis, and having had numerous works collected by the National and Provincial Art Banks of Canada.
I am also a Master Carver, having worked for over nineteen years as a designer and wax carver in the giftware industry. I have carved beautiful green wax into everything from picture frames to box tops to teeny-tiny post earrings (smaller than 1cm in any dimension), all to scale, and destined to enter large-scale production.
Thinking of jewellery as small-scale sculpture, I feel that it is a language that I am fluent in. I know that in Art, there lies a translation for all things.
Happily tucked into my beautiful studio in the West end of Toronto, I offer my experience as a thoughtful, inventive, creative maker (who also loves a good story). I would love to work with you, using all of the experience that I have gleaned over the years, to create custom, wearable sculptures that mark meaningful moments in your life, or the lives of the ones closest to you.
I hope to hear from you soon, many thanks,
Amanda