Amy Gard, a Missouri native, is a self-taught artist from a very early age. She started by stapling bed sheets to wood to create a canvas, and making or finding her own paint to work with. In early adulthood she began studying clay, wood, and stone sculpture, as well as theatre at Graceland University, which made her excited to see and know more. After graduating, she traveled the country, landing in Chicago, L.A., everywhere in between, and then back in Chicago. During these times she learned a number of trades and built up her creative self even more. She had gone back to school at Pasadena City College to learn more about auto mechanics and the basics of art, nourishing new and old skills, but ultimately loved the impact of creating murals; telling a story that may make one cry, laugh, get angry, be sad, feel hate, and/or feel love.

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In 2019 Amy relocated to the Methow Valley. As she settled and learned the new lay of the land, she started collecting her ideas and thoughts of her next artistic adventure. She is starting to step out of her shell again and slide back into mural art as the pandemic is calming down.
Amy was hired in June by Methow Arts Alliance to create and paint the “Love is Love” temporary mural in honor of June’s Pride Month. The project was a collaboration of Methow Pride, The Merc, and Methow Arts. On the corner of Glover and 2nd Street in Twisp, you can find her mural brightening the town, telling a story. From Methow Arts office, many people are seen taking photos of or with this beloved piece that will now be something everyone will remember about Twisp.

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Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. (Library of Congress)
CONTACT/INFO: info@methowartsalliance.org, 509-997-4004.