Artist Statement

When beginning a piece, I work with a specific memory, conjuring up details of how I felt, the colors and shapes in the environment around me, how my body was moving in the space and the feelings that I was having. Working intuitively, I select fabrics based on color and texture and cut and arrange shapes in order to depict the memory in an abstracted manner. I quilt the pieces down using stitched lines that illustrate the movement and energy of the memory, often resembling topographical maps or weather patterns, reflecting their connection to the environment.

Working with memories that come to me in meditative thought, they are often about nature, care-taking, play and return to themes of seasons and the cycles of the natural world. Although the viewer might not know the specific memory that I explored in a work, I hope that they can take away the sensation of the memory, and that the feelings, movement and sense of light in my work can evoke some of their own memories.

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Artist Biography

Amanda Granum Milz is an American fiber artist working in Philadelphia, PA. She utilizes up-cycled and repurposed fabric and explores the relationship between traditional quilt-making and contemporary textile applications. She uses a raw-edge fiber applique technique to create fiber assemblage compositions that are quilted and stretched on traditional wooden stretcher bars. Milz’s work explores themes of memory, caregiving and the cyclical workings of the natural world. Her work has been shown locally and internationally, including at the Painted Bride Art Center, the James Oliver Gallery and the Abington Art Center. Most recently, her work was featured at the National Modern Quilt Guild QuiltCon and the Avenue of the Arts AVE2.0 Public Banner Project, and she completed the Fiber Artist Residency at the Peters Valley School of Craft.

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Education

2012
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Master of Arts in Teaching Visual Arts

2006
Boston University, College of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting

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Professional Experience

2013 - 2023
Lower School Art Teacher, Abington Friends School, Jenkintown, PA

2012
Teaching Artist, Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia, PA

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Continuing Education

2026
Intuitive Color Quilt Stories in Abstract Piecing with Sherri Lynn Wood, Schweinfurth Art Center Quilting by the Lake, Geneva, NY

2025
Express Your True Self: One Piece at a Time with Sheila Frampton Cooper, Schweinfurth Art Center Quilting by the Lake, Geneva, NY

2024
Big and Bold: New Comfort Zone with Joe Cunningham, Schweinfurth Art Center Quilting by the Lake, Geneva, NY

2024
Flower Power Improvisational Quilting with Sherri Lynn Wood, Schweinfurth Art Center Quilting by the Lake, Geneva, NY

2023
Color and Line with Sujata Shah, Schweinfurth Art Center Quilting by the Lake, Geneva, NY

2022
Improv Fundamentals Workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood, Madeleine Island School of Art, Madeleine Island, WI

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Awards and Honors

2026
Fiber Studio Artist Residency, Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ

2014
New Courtland Fellowship, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

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Lectures and Talks

2026
What This Quilt Knows About Me: Finding Personal Attunement Through Quilting, Brave Patch Network, Online

Artist Lecture & Workshop on Personal Flagmaking, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

Trunk Show & Artist Lecture, Quilting by the Lake, Schweinfurth Art Center, Geneva, NY

2024
Artist Lecture & Workshop on Soft Armor, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

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Bibliography

"Spotlight: Amanda Milz, Fiber Artist," Create Whimsy, August 2026

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Public Projects

2026
AVE2.0 Avenue of the Arts Public Banners, 1020 Broad St., Philadelphia, PA

Avenue of the Arts, Inc.
Curator: Julia Guerrero, Civic Centered

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Purchases and Commissions

Contact artist by email, amandamilz.art@gmail.com or visit Amanda Milz website

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2027 (Upcoming)
Tell It From The Stone's Perspective, ArtsQuest Creative Factory, Bethlehem, PA

2012
Covenant, InLiquid at the Bride, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA

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Group

2026
Art=Quilts=Art, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
Juried Exhibition Curators: Victoria Findlay Wolfe & Fuzzy Mall

Tapestry, Third Story Gallery, Lancaster, PA
Juried Exhibition‍

Open, The Gallery at Fabriq, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition Curator: Jessica Danyi‍

Revolutionary Women, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
Juried Exhibition

Fiber, Alter Work Studios, Long Island City, NY
Juried Exhibition

Fine Art Quilts, Loewen Gallery, Williamston, MI
Juried Exhibition

Modern Quilt Guild QuiltCon, Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC
Juried Exhibition

2025
Summer Exhibition, reCreate Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

2024
High in Fiber, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA 2024
Juried Exhibition, Curator: Ash Garner

2024
Hearts Out for Palestine, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

2015
Faculty Exhibition, Abington Friends School, Jenkintown, PA

2015
Art is Ageless, Art from the NewCourtland Artist Fellowship, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA

2012
Patterns & Narratives, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Two-Person Exhibition

2011
Department of Art & Design Education Graduate Student Exhibition, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Creative Community: Mural Arts Artists, Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA

2010
Mural Artist Training Program Exhibition, Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA

2009
InLiquid’s 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Gallery 543, Philadelphia, PA

2008
110th Annual Adult Members’ Exhibition, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA

2006
BFA Student Exhibition, Boston University, Commonwealth Gallery, Boston, MA

Juried Student Exhibition at 18 Tremont Street, Boston University Art League, Boston, MA‍

College Art Association Undergraduate Show, Juried Exhibition, 808 Gallery, Boston, MA

2005
Self-Portraiture, Commonwealth Gallery, Boston, MA
Juried Exhibition

2005
Galleria di Sotoportego, Venice, Italy

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Affiliations

American Craft Council
Studio Art Quilt Associates