"Dwell in Possibilities." - Emily Dickinson

Yesterday, my mom and I traveled out to western Mass to visit this woman's home: Emily Dickinson! My next book illustration project revolves around female writers, and though I don't know her as well as some of the others I chose, I felt I needed to include her because she and I share a love of nature. My mom and I got a private tour (just so happened no one else was around!) of Emily's house and then her brother Austen's house, which is right next door. It helped me get to know her and I feel very excited and much better prepared to create an illustrated environment for my portrayal of this Emily Dickinson. an enormous and beautiful tree outside her house. Her house itself. Her bedroom is in the top left corner. Austen's house through the trees. I love small, scattered woods made up of tall and slender trees and the patterns their shadows make on the snow, like stripes. ..and me in the cemetary where Emily is burried. Right where that mural is (Emily is the lady in the daisy) is where one of Emily's old houses used to be, but they tore it down to build a gas station. This cemetary is right through the woods past her house, and when she died they carried her white casket through the trees and to the graveyard. It was very beautiful, and a shame the area has been built up so much. People have left many little animal figurines atop her grave. It was a wonderful day! I am still on the mend but almost 100% better now. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Love, Amanda

Unfortunately...

...I came down with the flu this week and I don't think I'll be able to update my shop this evening, as mentioned in my last post. :( I hope to be able to do it soon. Hope you all have a good weekend... Going back to climb into bed with my little Tiger... Love, Amanda

New Endeavors!

Hello, new and faithful readers! While sitting here listening to The Beatles and slightly procrastinating on my latest book illustration assignment, I decided to give a little update about my shop and what's new with it lately. Just to get the word out: That's 8pm EST!! I'm very excited, because this is my first ever ANNOUNCEMENT that I will be updating my shop! New items will include magnets featurinng never before seen art (and I dare say they're going to be pretty fun!). I'm hoping for some other new surprises should time allow. Of course, old favorites of mine are still up in the shop, including these guys: These are the three beautiful writers of my Poet Portrait series: e.e. cummings, Amber Tamblyn, and T.S. Eliot. Cummings and Eliot are the two men I wrote about in my first entry, and how lucky I am to live in the same city that they lived in, to walk the exact same brick pathways they walked with notebook in hand... I also adore this girl, and her Artist friend (who is also living in the old etsy shop): She comes with another page of more clothes and accessories, including a journal and quill pen. I hope you all are having a wonderful Tuesday! Now to finish illustrating this cookbook...I'm on the Key Lime Pie recipe..yum. Love, Amanda

A Couple of Lonely Girls with Big Hearts

Today I was lucky enough to spend my afternoon with these two little ladies: Their names are Bonnie and Tina, and they're a pair of 5 year old Beagle sisters at Buddy Dog Humane Society where I volunteer. They've been adopted out twice, both times returned - once because they wouldn't play catch, the second time becuase Tina is "too active" and Bonnie is "not active enough". They'd been gone for months and I was so glad they had a home, but today I checked the site and saw that they were back again, and I had to take a trip back to Buddy Dog. I haven't been going as much lately because of school, but these girls were always my number one reason for going. It breaks my heart that people keep adopting them and letting them down. The shelter is cold in the winter, and while the workers and volunteers do everything they can to keep the dogs happy and feeling loved, it will never be the same as a warm home environment. I think we could all learn so much from dogs. They aren't hard to please. All they ask for is love, and they will truly be happy everyday. They don't really get in bad moods. If they're grumpy, it's their nature, and at least they're honest and up front about it! Animals, and dogs especially, are a source of unconditional love. They're very admirable beings. Bonnie and Tina, who are so gentle and sweet and excited to see you when you walk up to their cage, are the epitome of all this. If you're looking for some new loves of your life, Bonnie and Tina would be quite wonderful in filling that position. Here's a link to their page at BuddyDogHS.com - http://buddydoghs.com/html/showDogs.asp?id=6070. I'm back in the city tonight, and have so much work due this week...ee! I hope I can get it all done. I hang my first solo show at my school this Friday. I'm so excited. I'll definitely post pictures! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Love, Amanda

Hello to you!

Hello, everyone! My name is Amanda Atkins, and I am beginning an online journey accompanied by my artwork. I recently took up an etsy site to sell my art, and I thought a blog would be a good way to promote my shop and give fellow artists and new friends a peek into my life. I once described myself as such: Animal lover. Sketch book connoisseur. Constantly uncertain. Understated. Jars of jewelry. Joan of arc. Collector of notebooks. Street wanderer. Bookstore basement dweller. English literature buff. Misplaced poet. Demure. High chroma palette. Probably belong in a different time, but definitely the same place. I am a lucky girl who (for school) gets to live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My favorite poet of all time, e.e. cummings, was born in Cambridgde and spent a great deal of his life there, teaching at Harvard and writing poems like "the ladies of Cambridge". I take walks to the house he grew up in quite often. My other favorite poet, T.S.Eliot, also lived in Cambridge for a short time and I get to travel by his house everyday on my way to classes. The city of Cambridge is one of my greatest loves. I could live there forever, I think, with some traveling interjected here and there. I don't want to go on and on, so I'll end this post here. I hope to meet many new artists and friends with my blog, so feel free to leave me comments and say hi! I'm happy to meet you. :) Love, Amanda amandaatkins.etsy.com