Meet Phoenix, AZ-based Musician Amanda Vernon
AMANDA VERNON is a Phoenix, AZ-based recording artist (piano, voice, songwriting).
Website: www.amandavernon.com
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Phoenix?
AMANDA VERNON: I'm originally from the Midwest. I was born a "cheesehead" in La Crosse, Wisconsin; my parents raised me in idyllic Grand Rapids, Michigan. My husband left his job in sales almost nine years ago, to work with me full time in the arts. At the onset of working together, we toured the United States for nine months straight as a family. Through our travels, we realized that living in a sunny climate and in close proximity to a major airport would be the most ideal for our lifestyle. Phoenix has an excellent cost of living, nearly endless sunshine, and excellent flight options. Overall, we felt called to be here in Arizona, and our location helps us to pair a steady home life with my robust tour schedule.
How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist? Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?
These days, I prefer to describe myself as a "Catholic and an artist." The phrase "Catholic artist" evokes the connotation of a marketing angle for me. I fully imagine that for others, the phrase is authentically to their mission! But for me, I can picture an unwelcome scenario where Catholicism becomes like a brand that I am promoting, and my artwork turns into propaganda. My personal mission as a Catholic working in the arts, is to share the joy of knowing Christ, through testimony and song.
Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
In every experience of the Church, I have found support for my vocation as an artist.
Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
I have received nothing but support from fellow artists for my Catholic faith. In my younger years, when I mainly worked in Catholic circles, I imagined the "secular" world to be hostile to Catholicism. On the contrary, I discovered fellow artists to be immensely open, interested, and encouraging when I have shared my faith even in non-religious venues.
How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
I think the Church is very welcoming to artists, but it would help if we, the faithful, made it more readily known! I perceive the Church to be welcoming because I had many mentors who taught me that I am part of the Church, that the Church is here for me, and that I have a calling to serve the Church with the gifts God gave me.
Where in Phoenix do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?
I find spiritual fulfillment in the Sacraments. One of our two home parishes is particularly physically stunning, as well. I would love to also have a tight-knit, local, faith community. However, over the past few years, we've been in pandemic times and we also moved to a new part of town. So I haven't developed the community life that is on my heart to have! In the past, though, my family has definitely been blessed with a fulfilling spiritual community.
Where in Phoenix do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?
Structured, group programs haven't usually been a source of artistic inspiration for me. I go to prayer to get inspired. I exercise to feel inspired. I read, or talk and laugh with friends to get inspired.
How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in Phoenix?
I have built community as a Catholic through fostering close friendships with other Catholics in my metro area. However, I have been more or less a lone wolf as an artist in Phoenix. I breathe a sigh of relief upon writing that fact. Out on tour, I'm in "artist mode," connecting and networking. But at home, I'm in "mom mode," and I want to be a bit hidden and more of a homebody.
What is your daily spiritual practice? And if you have a spiritual director, how did you find that person?
Daily spiritual practice includes quiet prayer time with scripture. I also ask the Lord for a specific "Word for the Week" from the previous Sunday liturgy. I carry this "word" (or phrase) with me through the week, and I ask the Lord, "What are you calling me to do about this Word?" This has been a phenomenal prayer practice for me since I was 17 years old!
I have an incredible spiritual director. She's a Franciscan sister, and we have been meeting every other month or so, for over a decade! She knows me incredibly well and she's a rock-solid mentor. I met my spiritual director through the Franciscan Life Process Center in West Michigan.
What is your daily artistic practice?
My daily artistic practice is reflection! To take the time to investigate the movements of my heart, to be honest with myself, to invest in my deepest relationships. My songwriting, and even my performance, flows from this prayerful introspection.
Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist. What happened, and what brought you the most joy?
I see myself as completely living out my vocation as an artist every day! So the most recent day would be today. I'm currently working behind the scenes, since I have no tours for the next few weeks. I'm doing the non-glamorous work of taking good care of my heart, mind, and body.
Here's a snapshot: I'm spending a lot of family time, which includes many conversations with my young children. They love to talk with my husband and me! I'm working on my marriage by engaging in new discussion about our personality types. One of my closest friends and I are navigating changes in our friendship, through challenging but fruitful conversations about boundaries. I'm also taking care of my body by adding weight-lifting to my typical exercise routine. Lastly, I'm in the midst of a month-long hormone diagnosis, to aid in long-term health for my childbearing years and beyond.
In a nutshell, sometimes I'm out on tour, thriving as I publicly share my faith through my art. But in order to thrive in the spotlight, I have to cooperate with the gifts that the Lord has given me, on a daily basis! Everything that is seen and everything that is hidden, is part of living out my vocation as an artist.
How do you afford housing as an artist?
We have been blessed to support our family solely through my artwork for 8 and a half years! That includes the purchase of a beautiful home in 2020. I'm tearing up as I write this. It is unheard of to be a full-time, independent recording artist, and a wife, and a mom of four, and to support our family in this manner. It's miraculous.
It's also in huge part because my husband is uniquely gifted to support my artistic gifts as my manager. He is supremely organized, he is dedicated, and he is tough-skinned. The times when we face failures in our career, he doesn't get discouraged. He encourages me when I want to quit. Somehow, we have been able to not only persist but excel, even financially.
Since my husband and I both went full time in my artistic career, we have:
Toured full-time with two toddlers (2013 - 2014)
Lived and worked as an "artist in residence," adjacent to a Catholic parish in the San Francisco Bay Area (2014 - 2016)
Rented a home in the Phoenix metro area (2016 - 2020)
Bought and resided in our dream home in the Phoenix metro area (2020 - present)
How do you financially support yourself as an artist?
We have various income streams, including Amanda Vernon Patrons, who support my music on a monthly basis! (Check it out at www.amandavernon.com/patron) I'm also working with a literary agent in hopes of signing a publishing deal soon. Our main source of income, however, is merchandise sales at live events. I offer ministry events mainly for Catholic parishes. Sometimes the parish pays me to come in, sometimes they also cover my travel expenses. Other times, I absorb the cost and I come in for free. When I share my music and testimony, I offer my books and CDs for sale afterward. (Can you believe people still buy CDs?! I'm shocked!)
When I became an artist in residence in California, it was because the parish initially wanted to hire me as a music director. However, my heart's desire is to travel, to be a missionary. So I was very honest with them: I loved the parish, but I needed flexibility. We came up with a situation together that allowed for both a consistent presence at the parish and the flexibility to travel. My greatest strength as an artist is my ability to connect with people. So, I double down on the strength!
I namely visit places where I have friends, or friends of friends. So, I encourage other artists to double down on their strengths! If you have a knack for networking, lean into your network for jobs and opportunities. If you have a propensity for being on social media, post and share like crazy. If you like to create in the quiet, do it... and trust that God will lead you to a platform in which to share your work when the time is right. And above all, pray! I regularly pray, "Lord, you started this. If you want me to continue to share these gifts, please keep opening the doors." The Lord has continued to open door after door, and my husband and I have kept walking through.
What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in your city?
For other artists in the Phoenix area, I would recommend: Go hiking locally! Because we can! There's something so sacred about the desert: it shows up regularly in scripture as a place of purification and it's usually the setting of preparation for a great mission. So, find a way to soak it up! (Pro tip: go super early in the morning if it's June - September!) For women, check out FemForce: a monthly subscription for social media photos and videos. Genius for content creation. They have a men's division, too. Website: www.femforceshoots.com
What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?
1. Remember that your art is a response to God's invitation.
2. Don't be afraid to dream super big, and to "write down the vision" (Habakkuk 2:2)
3. Start with your inner circle, as you promote your art. And then grow the inner circle. Art is best shared among friends.