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Visual
Artist
Andrea Parrish

For as long as I can remember, I have not had a mind’s eye – the ability to visualize. This aphantasia has created an interesting relationship with visual art. For many years, I relied on photography to record and tell the story of what’s around me. However, after a hand surgery left me unable to use an SLR camera, I took a friend’s dare to pick up a paintbrush. The planets and starscapes that have emerged gnaw at the edges of my memory in a way that seem to tease with what is just beyond conscious reach. Since I am not able to visualize what I’m trying to paint, it’s a matter of just trusting what appears. These days, I work primarily in paint, though I occasionally still work with photography and the written word. You can see a little of everything I do at @tinytall on Instagram, or on my website.
Visual
Artist
Jiemei Lin

Jiemei Lin is an illustrator born in Hangzhou, China, currently living and working in the Inland Northwest, Washington State. Jiemei Lin works with both digital media and traditional media such as watercolor, pencil, oil, and mix media. Lin’s works frequently take on themes of individual and cultural identity with a keen eye for design and color. Lin’s mission as Illustrator is to represent and communicate with young audiences from underrepresented groups in her visual language. Lin believes that in her world of illustration everyone deserves to have their story told and that every relationship begins with kindness and love. Jiemei Lin has been transferring her illustration works into public art, you can find her murals throughout the cities of Spokane and Pullman, WA.
Music
Artist
Amanda Howard-Phillips

Amanda Howard-Phillips joined the Spokane Symphony in 2003 and became principal second violin in 2008. Originally from Bainbridge Island, Washington, Amanda began violin lessons at four years old and made her solo debut with the Bainbridge Orchestra at age eleven. Amanda received her bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Camilla Wicks, and her master’s degree in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with David Updegraff. She has studied chamber music with many prominent chamber musicians, including Mark Sokol, Peter Salaff (of the Cleveland Quartet), the Cavani Quartet, Paul Hersh, Ian Swensen, Bonnie Hampton, and Clive Greensmith (of the Tokyo Quartet). She has been awarded fellowships to study at the National Repertory Orchestra and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, and won first prize in the Pacific Chamber Symphony Concerto Competition in San Francisco, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.