As usual, I attended an artist talk without research. I attended a private viewing of Amy Lin’s work and was pleasantly surprised. When I met her, it took me a second to realize she was the artist. Her down to earth personality was shining through the entire talk.
Each drawing is inspired by a dream she had. She recorded dreams as soon as she woke and admitted that sometimes her mind attempted to interpret the dreams while she recorded (potentially adding more than really happened). All of the work is done in colored pencil with no predefined plan. That’s what makes the work even more special.
It was interesting to see a person’s dream interpreted visually. Many of Amy’s dreams where very different than any of the dreams I’ve had. My favorite dream was her flying a house like a kite where the strings were like cooked spaghetti noodles. I thought I had strange dreams but Amy’s go much further, hence inspiring the beautiful art we witnessed.
The plot thickened as I learned Amy is an artist disguised as a chemical engineer. I recall my first ChE course stressed that many chemical engineers eventually practice in another field. I recall options like medicine, law, and business. I don’t recall art (or theater).
Amy inspired many things through her work. She talked about turning nightmares into positive art. Perseverance and sacrifice to complete her work even while working full time as an engineer. Her life is an inspiration that you are never too old to live your dreams. Without professional art training and networks, Amy has earned a seat at the artistic table. There were many nuggets of inspiration that I took from the exhibit.
I highly recommend checking out Amy Lin’s work.
“Dreamscape”
Nicole Longnecker Gallery, 2625 Colquitt St., Houston TX
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 21 (5 – 8pm)
Artist Talk: Saturday, February 28 (2pm)