Amanda Fisher works as a software analyst for the Educational Service Districts (ESD) of Washington supporting local school districts, as well as an artist. She has lived on Whidbey Island for 20 years and has focused on helping people, and building awareness about “Readiness to Learn and the Family Resource Center.” The program is currently helping children on Whidbey succeed in the public schools they are attending. She is also on the board of CADA and tries to raise awareness of resources for those experiencing domestic violence.
Amanda originally got a Bachelor's Degree in Human Services at Western Washington University in Bellingham and has just achieved her Master’s at Wilkes University in School Business Leadership. Her job consists of working with school districts to help staff learn how to use software without getting stressed about what they have to do.
Amanda is focusing increasingly on her art. She is currently one of the participating artists at Artworks Gallery in Langley. Her work previously had been shown at Pacific Crest Creatives Gallery in Cle Elum and The Gardens at Town Square in Bellevue. As a mother, she spent several years focusing on the needs of her family, but now she is beginning to follow her passion for her artwork.
She notes, “I have always been an artist,” but she stopped for 10 years to take care of her four children when they were younger. “It’s difficult paint with adorable toddlers putting their hands into everything.” The children are now 19, 16, 14 and 10 years old, and are currently attending local public schools, including her 19 year old at Western.
A few years ago she was invited to show some of her artwork in an international online art show called the Square Foot Show, and it was seen by one of the artists from Artworks Gallery in Langley who was impressed with her talents and invited her to show her work at the gallery.
She feels that her art is truly expressing something special for her. She comments, “As a woman and a mother, my focus has often been outward—love, nurture, contribute, survive, help—very task-oriented. Art is more of an inward journey for me. It is a way of sharing joy and being vulnerable by exposing my inner mind to others. It’s both meditative and soothing. I am beginning to focus on something that is giving me a sense of gratitude for what I can create.”
Her artwork is now being seen at Artworks Gallery, as well as online at her website: www.twistoflight.com. You can contact Amanda by emailing her at twistoflight2020@gmail.com.
Visit Artworks Gallery in Langley Village, 221 Second Street, #7A in Langley. You can learn more about Artworks Gallery by visiting their website: https://www.facebook.com/ArtworksWhidbey/