Biography
Amy Lowry lived in Beijing, China, for four years, where she studied scroll making and worked with a number of Chinese artists. Through the use of ink, gouache, rice paper, wheat based glue, and traditional brushes, Amy achieves a combination of Asian minimalism and natural dynamism. Her paintings have been shown in galleries and museums in Beijing, Chicago, New York, and Maine.
After moving to Chicago in 1994, Amy continued to paint, but decided to pursue her interest in illustration. “At that point I had three daughters under the age of ten, so it was natural that I returned to an early interest in children’s books.” Her first book is a Chinese folk tale, “How the Rooster got his Crown”, published by Holiday House in 1998.”
“The Ant and Grasshopper” followed – an Aesop fable which she set in Bejing. Her latest book, “The Pea Blossom” is a Hans Christian Anderson story, also set in Beijing. All three books are illustrated with ink and gouache on rice paper.
Amy later studied at the Chicago Mosaic School, introducing a sculptural dimension to her work while using a variety of materials.
Amy currently lives in Chicago with her husband, Dr. Lawrence Bonanno and her three daughters, Logan, Sally and Nina. She spends summers at her farm in Camden, Maine.