Born in suburban Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania, to a family with education and culture, Andrea started life in a traditional 1950’s setting. But life swung her a curve when her father died in her ninth year. Andi ( as she has been called since those early days) and her mother moved to Greenwich Village in the sixties. New York City was jumping with energy of the age. Bold feelings about politics and prejudice, war and peace, many loud voices promoting rights were heard on every corner...
Individual expression enticed her as she walked throughout the city. She particularly loved outdoor art shows. A family friend and professional painter, Manus Lichtenberg was inspirational. Andi soon began Pels art classes every Saturday in the historic Ansonia Hotel on the upper West side. Studying classical masters at the Metropolitan Museum was an amazing opportunity for a young child. As her ability and perceptions matured she was attracted to the many local galleries in Manhattan. She learned to appreciate an extensive diversity of talent. NYC has such a rich abundance of accessible masterworks like those at the Whitney, the Guggenheim, and the Museum of Modern Art,all which became regular destinations.
After graduating from Art and Design in commercial art and attending NYU's New School for illustration with Uri Shulevitz she embarked on a commercial art career working with established illustrator,Phillip Fox .However she was drawn to California in the seventies where she met and married, Dan Seals. Art was put on the back burner when Danny and Andi had their daughter Holley. Motherhood inspired a deep need in Andi to discover progressive learning environments for young children. The Montessori method most complemented her belief system as well as her love of natural beauty . So when they moved to Del Mar,California Andi continued her education at the University of California San Diego ultimately obtaining her American Montessori Society teacher certification. Guiding little ones, continuing her own education, raising a family and traveling extensively filled the next decade. At which time the family ended up settling in Middle Tennessee.
After earning her B.A. degree in 1983 from Vermont College of Norwich University, she received a grant to open the Montessori Schoolhouse in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. Establishing the school fulfilled the dream of merging her creativity with the Montessori method. When their youngest son, Jesse, was born in January of 1987, Andi chose to be an at home mom working freelance art projects and serving on various community, art, school and ecumenical boards.
When Jesse entered school, Andi realized she had postponed a vital part of her self-realization long enough. The need to nurture the development of her artistic response to the world seriously began. Studying advanced techniques with exemplary mentors including Charles Brindley, she increased her knowledge and the desire to focus her attention on oil painting in addition to water color, graphite and pen and ink drawing.
Her creative process includes trusting an intuitive pulse and reflection which brings depth into her creations. She has exhibited her work in various private and public solo, group and juried shows in the South. She has shown in exhibitions at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Cumberland University’s Adams Gallery in Lebanon, Tennessee, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee and many small cultural venues. Private invitational solo shows are offered when possible. Currently her work is in private collections and public spaces.
Life challenges opened up a new world of expression addressing abstracted subjects in an abstract manner adding to her artistic repertoire. She recently left Chengdu, China, where she was teaching and painting, and moved in March 2011 to Morro Bay, California, where she teaches art and continues to paint what inspires her.
UPCOMING EXHIBITS
Blessings & Gems Booksigning & Art Show
Coalesce Bookstore Garden Chapel
Morro Bay, CA May 29, 2011
Ratner Museum
INNER & OUTER JOURNEYS Exhibit
Bethesda, MD December 2011
