Amanda Troolines grew
up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. She studied
at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia for her
BA degree in Painting/Drawing and Secondary Art
Education. It was there that she honed her love
for decay, and the philosophy of wabi sabi. It wasn’t
until after four years of teaching high school art
in Desert Hot Springs, California that Amanda began
her studies at Vermont College and found that a
gift from a professor of slightly old lemons during
her undergraduate years reminded her of the need
to re-discover what she had always loved as a child;
the ability to look beyond, to look past the ordinary,
value imperfection and to allow for chance. It is
exactly this understanding that becomes an appreciation
for the simple everydayness of a decayed lemon that
Amanda made the focus of her graduate exhibition
at Vermont College in February of 2005.
Amanda is currently
still teaching high school at Desert Hot Springs
High School where she is the Department Head of
Fine and Performing Arts and teaching Photography,
Art 2/3/4 and Advanced Placement. Amanda is desperately
trying to find more time for her own artistic endeavors
where she is involved in the collaborative Without
Walls and seeking opportunities to decay lemons
and various objects. Currently, Amanda is working
on Personal Lemon Decay Kits. These kits, which
participants receive and can watch a lemon decay
over time. This project aims to challenge conventional
views of beauty and Amanda hopes the project participants
will begin to unlearn and rediscover an intimate
beauty found in the small details of everyday.
