About
Amy D. Kotel-Swift.
Artist, Personal Trainer, Dancer, Mom, Wife, Friend, Community Organizer, Muppet
I grew up on the North Shore and the middle of Long Island, NY. Before escaping at age 19, I had already had my sights set on being a fine artist. From a young age art was a therapeutic tool, a way of keeping to myself and a way to avoid the eyes of the bullies in my school. Luckily for me, I was also was praised for my abilities by the adults in my life, which made me want to pursue this passion more. Every time I drew, I would relax into each line I put on the paper. I could go inward and draw the world I wanted to see.
This eventually lead me to audition and attendING Long Island School For the Arts, my senior year of high school. It felt great to be emerged in art and surrounded by other young people who took art as serious as I did. I attended my local community college for a year and then landed at SUNY New Paltz. I entered that school as an art education major. I eventually graduated with a BA in Women Studies and a Minor in Dance. While I still created fine art, I changed my main creative focus towards the moving arts at that time. Dance still influences my art practice today, in the way I use space and the movement and energy I attempt to convey in my art.
Since graduating, I have gone back and forth between several different art disciplines. I toured professionally with puppet companies, I ran a peer education theater and taught dance, environmental education, as well as many other subjects to children and adults. I danced professionally and taught dance, fine art, and theaters in traditional schools and in all kinds of nontraditional settings too. I often felt some guilt and lots of joy around the fact that I almost always love the work I am doing, (but why be here if you don’t love what you do, right?).
While trying on many fun and interesting vocational hats, I also received my masters in education from Lesley University and became a certified personal trainer. I still work in the fitness field. I find all the activity and socializing a lovely juxtapose to the stillness and inner focus I need to create my art.
Since having my wonderful and talented offspring in 2011, I have had to lessen how I physically express my creativity. in 2016, I ventured back to my art and drawing roots. I had a mommy friend who was and is a fabulous trained and talented artist named Nora Riggs, ( you can find her on Instagram). I love her work so. She and I would draw together, while our little one’s would play. We met every week and did this. As my daughter grew older and I could commit to my art more fully, I added other mediums to my drawing. I started to paint, do collage work , pen work and combinations of these mediums. Most recently I have taken up block printing. I also have made soft upcycled sculptures. These sculptures are made from discarded toys, pipe cleaners and other crafts that my daughter no longer wanted.
While fine art feels very different from dance and puppetry, it still nurtures my creativity and expression equally well, but in a different way. I love how grounded I feel after a create a piece of art I really jive with. I feel so grateful that fine art is once again a conduit of my creativity and a vehicle for my subconscious to become conscious. I feel like it unravels my anxiety from past trauma and the trauma I feel when I listen to the news. While I still dance when I have a chance, drawing , painting, collage, and fabric sculpture have taken over almost all my free moments and this is a very good thing. I have been showing my art every opportunity I have. There are many months where I have 2-4 art showsand most months I have at least one solo show. I have made prints, cards, stickers, magnets, and shirts of my work which you can find through this site. If you are interested in any of the originals you see here or at one of my shows, or any other merchandise, please email me at either adkzab@gmail.com or at amydawnspiritfit and you can purchase my work currently through Venmo, Pay Pal, or check.
Additionally, please message me if you would like to come see my studio, and or would like to commission me to create the art of your dreams (figuratively or literally),
I also offer payment plans, so if you want a piece of my art, that really calls to you and yet, you feel anxious to spend, you can pay it off over time and then… it will be YOURS.
Send me a note at amydawnspiritfit@gmail.com and let’s make art happen.
With Love,
Amy Dawn
Artist Statement
Bursting with color, movement and imagination, Kotel’s work invites the viewer into richly layered worlds where countless forms converge to create expansive landscapes and dreamlike narratives, and unexpected connections. Balancing intention and intuition, her paintings explore the visible and invisible dimensions of experience. Reflecting the of complexity, beauty, and mystery woven throughout everyday life.
Amy’s vibrant and complicated art has subject matter that volleys between the beauty she wants to see and feel and the visual subconscious diary she needs to express to keep herself even for all other aspects of her life. Using color pencil, water color, acrylic, gauche, collage, and sometimes fabric and up-cycled found objects, she creates figures, landscapes, abstracts and surreal images and combinations of the before mentioned. Her work is both inviting, heartwarming, and at times challenging for the eys. Please take the time to find her and follow her on…
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy_dawn_kotel_art/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amydawnart/
The Art of Amy Dawn Kotel 