Amanda Joan Penney (she/her) is a visual artist, mother, and arts administrator based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Bookbinding, papermaking, and soft sculpture are the processes she is focused on now. Working primarily with handmade, found, and repurposed materials, Amanda is interested in paper’s long history as a medium through which people have learned about the world around them, communicated ideas, solved problems, and recorded information.

Her practice is grounded in eco-conscious resourcefulness and a sense of benevolence, where material choices and processes reflect care for both people and the environment. Through handmade art books and paper sculpture, she creates intimate, tactile objects that invite close attention and encourage people to slow down and engage with something physically. Folding, stitching, layering, tearing, and reshaping materials by hand keep her process curious, responsive, and exploratory.

Amanda is particularly interested in the tension between our increasingly digital lives and our human need for tactile, intimate experiences. Her work considers presence, attention, history, and connection in a world increasingly mediated by screens. She is drawn to the quiet act of making by hand as a way of reconnecting with materials, with ourselves, and with nature.

Born in St. Anthony, NL, Amanda has moved many times throughout her life and maintains deep connections to Labrador and Calgary, Alberta. She now manages a family of four alongside her work with Eastern Edge artist-run centre in St. John’s. She is an enthusiastic supporter of street and public art and is passionate about creating and experiencing art within her community.

Amanda is open about the joys and challenges of motherhood, anxiety, and late-diagnosed ADHD, experiences that continue to shape her understanding of attention, energy, care, and connection.