about me
My name is Amanda Allard Cline. I am one crafty historian. What do I mean that I am a crafty historian? I studied history passionately, but often felt like it was at the expense of an earlier passion: To craft. To make. To create.
It feels like it's been a really long time since I graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a Master's in History. I studied the History of Science, and more particularly the early modern period--Copernicus to Newton--under Dr. Robert A. Hatch. However I really looked at most intellectual and scientific achievements from the early Greeks to the 1800s, and then the science and math got too hard. I left academia for academia of a different sort.
I taught Social Studies at a local, public charter school for three years. It was wonderful. I got to share the joy and the need for history in everyday life with elementary and middle school students. We did so many crafty projects! At one point an overwhelming amount of third graders thought I should run for president.
After leaving my home in Gainesville, Florida, I moved to the Washington DC area. I knew the opportunities to be a crafty historian would be exponential. I was correct. I began teaching Western Civilization survey courses at Northern Virginia Community College. While my students and I had less time making art, the rest of my time was spent at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Lecturing at the college and talking to folks about history provided me with an opportunity to create a strong personal voice and excellent presentation techniques. I also learned a slew of crafty skills: spinning, weaving, knitting, dying wool, farming and gardening. I’ve made whiskey in an 18th century distillery; I’ve hand crafted an iron nail; I’ve cooked an apple pie over a fire.
I love to talk to folks about history. To tell a story. To investigate the way that we tell stories and write history. To realize that history is a story about our present selves. In January 2013 I enrolled in HIS 295: Topics in Digital History with Dr. Charles Evans. This course rekindled an interest that I had started a year before--a nerdy, crafty history blog. I wanted to use the blog to flex my rusty writing and research muscles. People wonder all the time; there are only a few that will spend the needed hour-or-so to research what they wonder. This website is a synopsis of that hour-or-so research from a few years ago. I should really pick it up again, but I’m working on a different craft.
That craft is the intersection of design, technology, and education. I had gained a unique set of skills through a variety of work experience, all of which had been dedicate to the presentation of knowledge and information to the public. But my pursuit of history led me along a path, away from my earliest love of art and design. In the spring of 2013, I began to take courses working towards a certification in Graphic Design or Interactive Design.
My husband Brendan and I are currently, happily, residing in Austin, Texas. I guide and teach Early College Start students through their Austin Community College US History courses. I am still slowly building the design experience I want.
When I’m not a historian or a designer, I’m crafting my soul. I have been known to lead the occasional cycle class at the gym. I am a wayward comic collector and bookworm. I'm a spinner, a hiker, a biker, a would-be camper, and recreational disc golfer. I’m a lover of dogs and foxes (because I’m crafty like a fox!) The music scene in Austin has made me a bit of a junkie. Occasionally, Brendan will come home and find glue and scrap paper from one end of the house to the other as I make art.
You have questions? I have answers! And they may even be the answers to your questions. You can email me at amandorka@gmail.com!
