The Cage and The Key by Amy Abrams
This novel tells the story of a New York City artist who travels west—to Arizona and New Mexico—on a spiritual sojourn to find her authentic self. In many ways, it parallels my own story of personal, professional and spiritual growth. Straight from my heart, its honesty has hit a nerve with women facing challenges in career, motherhood and romance. The book encourages readers to access their power and find happiness. Many readers tell me “I couldn’t put it down.” I also hear “I laughed and I cried.” If you read it, I hope it encourages self-discovery and fosters authenticity.
Reviews
This book might be described as a “thinking woman’s” EAT,PRAY,LOVE. It will certainly be more valuable to anyone who is looking for a book that addresses some of life’s more serious issues and examines an array of possible paths to explore as one searches for wholeness and healing. Beautifully written, with great depth and soulfulness, and a heroine you will be pulling for from beginning to end. I hope we’ll hear more from Amy Abrams. Read more reviews+
Excerpt
Your courage on your spiritual path has led you to this final lesson. You will attempt grabbing onto the last vestiges; it is human nature. But your goal is to transcend, to release everything you have relied on, so that you may relinquish the ego, enabling the loss of fear. When your grief transcends all bounds, you will arrive. Nothing to lose is the optimal state. The gate to paradise is often entered through your deepest pain. This is the greatest riddle. When all the effort you can muster reaches nowhere, you will break free. Like a caged bird, you will finally fly free, and looking back, see that you were the cage and the key.
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Available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com
Schenck in the 21st Century:
The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America by Amy Abrams
212-page coffee table book about Pop artist Bill Schenck wins The 2013 US Literary Award for Fine Art.
Although the plentiful plains of the American West are long gone, the cowboy remains the country’s hero. With a massive public relations campaign spanning over a century including railroad promoters, Wild West shows, country-western crooners, rodeo stars and six-guns Hollywood westerns, the all-American hero saved the day—and the girl. The paintings, prints and photographs of artist Bill Schenck debunk the longstanding myths of the cowboy and his country, while celebrating what’s truly magnificent about America—the land.
In the 1970s, while the 24-year-old artist was living and working in New York City amid Andy Warhol’s entourage and the Pop art scene, Western movie stills inspired a series of paintings that catapulted Schenck to fame. Appropriating “cowboy and Indian” icons with a Pop art sensibility, Schenck set in motion an entire genre—Contemporary Western Art. In the decades that followed, his work has been showcased in 97 solo shows and included in 41 museum collections worldwide. The subject of six museum retrospectives, Schenck’s work is also in prominent public and celebrity collections across the globe.Today, the artist calls a sprawling ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico home. No “drugstore” cowboy, Schenck holds prestigious equestrian national and state championship titles and provides professional ranch sorting events in his rodeo arena. More prolific than ever, he is creating paintings and prints with a bolder palette that place him at the apex of his career. In various media, the artist continues interpreting the people and places that comprise America. Always innovative, radical at heart, Schenck reveals what’s real, what’s not, and more than ever, what’s at stake in the United States.
Reviews
“Without being pedantic, this wonderful book manages to provide a fascinating and comprehensive biographical overview of the life and works of Billy Schenck, while placing him clearly in historical, social perspective of art trends in the last 40-50 years. This is no mean feat as Schenck is a protean, serious living artist who continuously explores our American psyche and culture as he dances back and forth over the line separating iconic imagery, media, kitsch, satire, truth, genius, and originality. Visibly influenced by most of modern art’s developments, Schenck’s explorations and contributions of the American Southwest are ably captured and set in context by the author, Amy Abrams. So much of art writing is pompous, jargon-laden, and self-important – which this book isn’t; it strikes me as a great match between author and subject.”
Dede S. Schmitt
Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and select bookstores
Gregory Hull: Journey Home to the Authentic Self by Amy Abrams
Nationally renowned and regarded a Renaissance man, Gregory Hull is among today’s premier contemporary realists, achieving success across multiple genres: portrait, still life, and landscape. Harnessing classical training descended from European academies, Hull mastered each new artistic quest with his own potent and emotive style. While his eclecticism defied definition by art critics, curators, and gallerists – who tend to pigeon-hole artists – it never hindered his success. Hull was simply too huge a talent. Sell-out solo shows at America’s most prominent galleries, from New York City to California, as well as prestigious awards and celebrity commissions, furthered his fame.
For forty years, Hull has lived by his brush, his skill and courage aiding his creative potential and authentic self. His journey offers a roadmap for those aiming to follow their heart and lead a fulfilling life. Overcoming obstacles of all kinds, his path provides signposts for your own triumphs. Here are tips and tools for the road to realize your dreams. Take hold – this is Gregory Hull’s treasure map…
Available for purchase at Amazon.com and select museum bookstores
Anne Coe: Wisdom of the Wild by Amy Abrams
Aforemost artist of the contemporary West, Anne Coe presents a penetrating look at America through her paintings and prints, uncovering the region’s core truths and visioning the country’s future. Coe’s unique fusion of visual satire and wit reveals the complexities of a region longstanding as the repository of the American Dream. Her celebrated works are found in many museum collections including the Smithsonian Institution, as well as prominent private and corporate collections across the globe.
A fourth-generation Arizonan, Coe takes inspiration for her artworks from Western and Southwestern landscapes, as well as wildlife. Animals in her paintings and prints portray the plights of people and highlight the compelling conflicts of our time: civilization versus “the wild” and individual versus society. “The wild” has much to teach us in Coe’s artworks. The artist passionately celebrates the land and its creatures leading us to a reconnection with nature and enhanced self-awareness. Through her own journey exploring and portraying the beauty and mystery of life, Coe shows us a way back to the instinctual self, fostering the restoration of our passion, creativity, and inner-knowingness.
Available for purchase at Amazon.com and select museum bookstores