Excavations of the Soul: Visionary Art, Emotion, and Installation with Amy Funderburk

Reflections from the We Are Artists Podcast

Art can be a map — not just to beauty or story, but to the inner self. In this episode of We Are Artists, visionary painter Amy Funderburk joins us to discuss how her work traverses the borderlands between emotion, spirit, and the physical world. Known for her layered, immersive installations and meditative process, Amy's work is both deeply personal and profoundly archetypal.

🎨 The Weight Behind the Work

Large-scale installation projects like Excavations and The Portal are more than just paintings , they are immersive emotional experiences that this artist has put her heart and soul into. Supported by helpful arts grants from organizations like the North Carolina Arts Council and the Pamela Howland Independent Artist Fund, these projects required Amy to dig into her own lived emotional experiences, translating personal healing into a public, visual ritual.

As Amy described it, the process of creating these installations was a form of “emotional archeology” — unearthing and honoring what’s hidden, layered, or long-buried.

“It’s not just about what the viewer sees,” Amy says, “it’s about what they feel when they enter the space.”

⏳ Timelessness, Re-Visioning

One fascinating topic we explored was the idea of re-visioning older work — allowing it to evolve over time without locking it into a moment in the past, an older piece may later find renewed relevance, and the meaning might deepen with time.

This approach keeps the work alive and evolving, much like the artist herself.

Hear more about this journey of bringing art back to life through various adventures in the We Are Artist Episode where Shannon and Amy dive into this feeling of seeing things revived and anew!

💡 Participatory Installations and Emotional Portals

Amy’s installations often include participatory elements, inviting the viewer to become part of the process. Her work blurs the boundary between art object and experience, and she expands the definition of painting by integrating both 2D and 3D forms. As she puts it, she creates “portals” between dimensions and energetic, emotional, and visual.”

🔥 Making Space for Big Work (and Big Emotion)

We also talked about the emotional stamina and logistical dedication it takes to create large bodies of work. Amy shares that these aren’t projects you rush — they unfold with time, healing, and patience. And that’s okay. Sometimes the biggest gift we can give our art is the space to become what it wants to be.