Amanda Valdez
New York City
“For the last 10 years I've been working with fabric and embroidery and canvas and paint and all these dynamic materials really coming together on the surface."
Amanda Valdez is a New York City based artist. She’s developed a unique style of blending fabrics and paint with simple shapes and patterns that has brought her recognition as an up and coming artist of renown. Today, she shows her work at galleries around the country and has thousands following her work on Tumblr.
- STARK MOUNTAIN REVERSIBLE JACKET
- GLANCY PEEP-TOE
- Stark Mountain Reversible Jacket
“I'm continuously inspired by different textile histories, and I’ve traveled to go look at things first‑hand. I have trekked up to this mountain in the middle of Bali, where it's the only place in the world that does this specific type of weaving.”
- Glancy Peep-Toe
“I often get asked, ‘where do your shapes come from?’ And I'm definitely oscillating between abstraction and representation. And one of the reasons I love using abstraction is, I find that it can speak to a wider group of people, a wider audience.”
Timberland:
Your work is pretty unique. Where do your inspirations come from?
Amanda:
I'm continuously inspired by different textile histories, and I have definitely traveled to go look at things first‑hand. I have trekked myself up to this mountain in the middle of Bali, where it's the only place in the world that does this specific type of weaving.
Last fall I went to Istanbul so I could see all the Islamic patterning, and the tile, and paintings, and textiles, and architecture. So I find that history really inspires me, and the way that there have just been all these hands that have made things for centuries.
- Mount Talbot Leather Bomber
“As an artist, I'm constantly finding the next opportunity. I'm finding the next way to support my work. I'm finding the next person who's going to be interested in sharing the work in whatever platforms they have.”
“Being in New York around other hyper‑focused, excited people has really fed me. And it's great because there's always someone who wants to do a project with you. I never feel alone in what I'm doing.”
- Savin Hill Double Buckle
- Mount Talbot Leather Bomber
- Savin Hill Double Buckle
Timberland:
Do you think that moving to New York has changed you significantly?
Amanda:
Definitely. I feel like New York has really changed me, and I feel like it's kind of brought things that maybe we're already there to a different saturation in a way. I've always been pretty focused, and I've always been very driven or hard on myself. In a way, that's an asset.
And being around other hyper‑focused, excited people has really fed me. And it's great because there's always someone who wants to do a project with you. There's always somebody else whose ideas have crossover with you, so there's always a dialog to have. I never feel alone in what I'm doing.
- Satucket River Linen Dress
- Earthkeepers® Sheafe Fisherman Sandal
- Satucket River Linen Dress
“When I started, I could only sew a straight line. I could just rip material through the machine. Then I started to experiment more, and that's when I really taught myself to sew all these very irregular shapes.”
“History really inspires me, and the way that there's just been all these hands that have made things for years and centuries.”
- Earthkeepers® Sheafe Fisherman Sandal
Timberland:
Are you ready to pack for our trip?
Amanda:
So I used to suffer from being an extreme over packer, where it was like suitcases upon suitcases, because I thought I needed everything. And then, I went to the complete opposite extreme, where if I can be in a backpack to go somewhere, it is my complete goal. And so, I feel when I'm traversing such different weather, you know, it's all about footwear, and a pair of jeans, and that one type of outerwear, that is really gonna be able to handle everything that's happening.
