AMY ELLEN SCHLEIF

 

American born artist, Amy Schleif, has been pursuing her creativity through art since she was a child.  Being chronically ill as a child, Schleif used art making as an important outlet for her emotions and the difficulty of growing up not able to do all the activities a child desires.  This challenging time as a child is what lead Amy to realise her purpose in life was to make art.

 

Amy decided to pursue a formal education in fine art focusing on painting and drawing in 1996 and began working with glass in 2000.  Amy’s introduction to glass as a medium was from her Grandmother, who made Tiffany reproduction lamp shades along with her own designs.  From her first exposure to glass, as a creative medium, Amy was hooked.  Quickly seeing the unique complexities glass adds to the creative process, Schleif delved hard and fast into educating herself in all the technical difficulties glass can present.

Technical knowledge aside, Schleif found she wanted more out of her art work.

 

Arriving in Australia in 2007 to study for her master’s degree at the ANU Glass Workshop, Schleif was provided the opportunity to completely focus on the development of the ideas that inspire her current work.  By exploring the expression of emotions and spirituality through colour and texture, Schleif examines the impact emotional states and spirituality have on perception.

 

By creating spaces that evoke a sense of serenity and peace amongst the chaos of life experiences, Amy provides an encounter for the viewer that is one of calm focus.  The combination of sensitive colour selection, subtle texture variations and delicate compositions, Amy creates works that envelop the viewer into an almost meditative state.  It is this experience of quiet contemplation that Amy provides to the viewer through her works.