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Inside a long strip building of rugged brick and silver metal located off of Oneta Street, natural sunlight dances across a spacious unit accented with colorful prints and pops of eclectic decor. On wide art tables and surrounding walls, printmaking supplies sit lined up. This is the space of Amanda Burk: printmaker, muralist, instructor and longtime Athens resident who will soon have a piece of her work embedded into the community in a new and impactful way.
In November 2022, Burk’s artwork entitled “Georgia Flora” was approved to be installed on the East Campus Connector segment of the Oconee Rivers Greenway. The 100-foot-long mural, which features flowers commonly associated with the state of Georgia, was chosen in a blind selection by a community panel. The mural will be hand-painted by Burk, and installation dates are to be determined.
“Amanda [Burk] has done quite a few murals in town and has been a working artist and arts educator in Athens for many years, so she’s a big part of our artist community,” Athens-Clarke County public art coordinator Tatiana Veneruso said in an email to The Red & Black. “I hope the mural adds to the enjoyment of our trails and becomes an iconic landmark in Athens.”
Burk has an extensive background in the world of everything art.
She has owned and operated Flat File Print Shop since 2022, where she teaches printmaking classes at all levels and provides access to equipment and studio time. Prior to opening Flat File, Burk got her Master’s of Fine Arts in printmaking from the University of Georgia, co-owned the, now-closed, Double Dutch Print Shop in Normaltown and has traveled around Georgia teaching printmaking classes at the college level since 2007. She has also painted several murals around Athens for businesses like Automatic Pizza, Boulevard Animal Hospital, Paloma Park and more.
“I don’t know how to not make art. I think of things very visually, and I grew up with an art dad, so I don’t have another choice,” Burk said.
Burk was first inspired to pursue art by her father, who was an art teacher in her hometown of Toledo, Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa at the undergraduate level originally thinking she wanted to pursue sculpture – but once she took a printmaking class, she never looked back.
“It’s just a really awesome art form,” Burk said.
Burk said that she bases her art style on different ideas, from things that conjure memories to inanimate objects like tape dispensers or lawn chairs. She added that she enjoys creating art based on ideas that resonate with a wide range of audiences.
“I focus on a lot of things that are nostalgic to people,” Burk said. “I just make what I want to see more of in the world.”
Burk found inspiration for “Georgia Flora” based on a woodblock print she had already created, spending hours redrawing and manipulating the floral pattern of pinks and yellows in Photoshop to make a repeated design. She described printmaking as a practice that requires patience and a detail-oriented mindset, as the outcome may not turn out as intended.
“It’s sort of taught me humility,” Burk said. “You have to learn how to troubleshoot and not give up.”
Burk’s art also gives her structure – the task-oriented nature of printmaking comforts her, and its inimitable look doesn’t go out of style. According to Burk, printmaking is a community-based art form, and it often teaches people that they are capable of creativity and going through the artistic process, even if they are apprehensive at first.
“It makes a pool of people who feel like they have a place in art,” Burk said. “It makes them feel better.”
Kathryn Réfi, Lyndon House Arts Center’s exhibitions program leader of art prep and Burk’s friend of 15 years, said that Burk’s passion for her craft has increased access to printmaking for people who don’t consider themselves to be artistic and seek ways to be creative in a guided, safe environment.
“She’s tireless in her dedication, especially to her own ventures as far as the amount of energy, time, money that she puts into them,” Réfi said. “She’s completely devoted.”
Moving forward, Burk said owning a business is “full of ups and downs,” so she can’t predict how long her journey will be. But she knows she will always be a teacher of printmaking in some capacity, and that she will always continue creating.
“I know I will always be making art in some way, whether it’s just for me or a gallery wall,” Burk said.
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