Amanda McCorkle
[1998, Graphic Design]
Based in Providence, RI
ColorQuarry’s RISD Craft Gallery
From enchanted forests to underwater seascapes, ColorQuarry, an award-winning design studio hailing from Providence, RI, creates customized one-of-a-kind paper goods fit for the avant-garde. Inspired by the birth of her daughter, Amanda set out to create something that captured the essence of each client’s unique & individual joy. Pairing the centuries-old craft of letterpress printing with her classical training as a graphic designer, Amanda works with her customers to ensure each hand-printed piece is its own mystical nugget of art.
What are some of the most important practices for your creative process?
Some of my most important practices aren’t practices at all… I find I sometimes get my best ideas/inspiration while I’m just out doing other things! I’ll see a random piece of typography that creates a spark of an idea, or a couple of colors I’ve never seen together, and pull out my sketchbook to write it down!
How does your current creative practice tie into your time spent at RISD?
I spent my time at RISD doing a lot of hand drawn sketches before taking my ideas to the computer. I still do a lot of hand drawing before I get to the computer to create my custom stationery pieces!
Tell us about some of your main sources of inspiration.
I love children’s books from the sixties & seventies! I also LOVE all of the old WPA posters from the thirties & forties– they are design perfection.
Is there a work/body of work that you are particularly excited about sharing with us at RISD Craft this year?
I’m excited to have new silk screened posters. Usually i just carry letterpress stationery & small woodblock prints, but this fall I will also have posters!
Any recent press, exhibitions, achievements or awards you’d like to share with us?
I recently designed & illustrated the book cover for Tenemental, a funny novel about a single woman owning a triple decker house in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood. It was chosen as one of Oprah Magazine’s Summer’s Best Books!
