Inspired by the Ozark region she was born in, Amber Perrodin is a community organizer, artist, curator, mother, and wife.
A mixed media artist living in Springdale, Arkansas Perrodin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Arkansas in 2010. For Perrodin, art and nature go hand in hand. Without time well spent in the wild, her artwork suffers. Often found foraging for wild mushrooms, swimming in creeks, and searching for tumbled creek glass, Amber brings the essence of these quiet moments into her artwork.
Although abstract, her artwork is often described as peaceful, subdued, and reminiscent of elements found in nature. Perrodin explains her artwork as “a form of visual poetry that expresses [her] fascination with the mysterious and spiritual relationship [she] has with the Ozarks.”
Amber’s artwork is currently represented by James May Gallery in Wisconsin. Perrodin expresses that working within the community and producing “people-focused” initiatives, satisfies the same itch as producing art. She and her husband Jonathan organize Perrodin Supply Co., an artist-run gallery and gathering space in downtown Springdale. Amber is also the founder of Northwest Arkansas’ most cherished indie craft show, The Little Craft Show and previously worked as the Programming Director for the Downtown Springdale Alliance organizing over 100 events in just two years, including Ozarktober Fest and Christmas on the Creek which still take place to this day. In 2013 Amber co-founded Team Springdale, the Springdale Art Initiative, and the Springdale Taco Tour. These were all highly successful and ongoing grassroots efforts to revitalize her hometown. In early 2018 Perrodin co-founded the Creative Social Retreat with four other artists.
An incredible two-page spread was recently written about Amber and her accomplishments in The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, where she was also previously named as one of the top 10 artists to watch in Northwest Arkansas. Amber and Jonathan can also be spotted on the cover of the very first Arkansas Made magazine where Amber more recently curated a collection of Arkansas-based glass artists.
Perrodin has taught mixed media collage, mono-printing, wood block carving, and linoleum printmaking classes at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as well as participated as one of their 2019 featured Chalk Artists. In 2019 Perrodin joined the “Live in America” team that is working directly with the new state-of-the-art contemporary art museum, The Momentary, to research, curate, and organize performance-based artists in Northwest Arkansas. Most recently Amber curated an art exhibition entitled “Looking For America; Northwest Arkansas” where artists addressed the question, “What does it mean to be American in your community?”. Working as an Artist Fellow in 2020, Perrodin has created an extension of that exhibition called the “Ozark Story Project” that chronicles recorded stories, poetry, recipes, and photographs of Ozark residents. This project deep dives into the intersection of immigrant and traditional Ozark folklore and how the two intersect in today’s world to create modern day folklore.
Perrodin currently works from her studio (126 N. Shiloh Street) in downtown Springdale, Arkansas with her husband, artist Jonathan Perrodin, and two talented daughters, Raine and Ezmah.
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