Amanda Grafe is an author and illustrator from New England. She enjoys spending time with her dog, writing about the arts, and making the world a better place. In addition to illustrating the books in Julia Reid's Alex and the Magical Coat Series, Amanda has authored three of her own children's books, My Best Ghoul Friend, Baby Bunny and the Balloon, and The Sneaky Mouse, illustrating two of them.
Jory has been inspired by a family of artists. Her grandfather, John R. Neill was an eminent pen and ink illustrator, best known for his imaginative work in over 34 volumes of Oz books. Jory moved to Italy for 2 years with her family after her father won the Guggenheim Sculpture Award to study in Europe. There she attended L’Instituto D’Arte in Pietrasanta Italy and had her first solo exhibition. It sold out. One of her fondest memories was of learning to paint with pastels with her mother, Annrea Neill, an award-winning painter on Cape Cod.
Upon return to the States, Jory studied fine arts at the University of Iowa, and later completed her training at The New England School of Art and Design in Boston. Her professional career began in advertising as a layout artist doing marker comps. She quickly progressed to illustrator, graphic designer, art director, and then associate creative director at some of the top ad agencies in Boston. Eventually, she realized it was the creative development process and not supervising others that she was so passionate about, so she opened her own independent design shop.
Jory is an enthusiastic artist who has exhibited in Boston, New York, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Italy. Her work has been showcased in “Strokes of Genius 8: Exploring Texture!” by North Light Books, ART Tour International 2019 Winter Issue – Editors’ Picks, The Contemporary Art Curator Magazine, and Biafarin’s International “Children” publication. She has achieved “Master Pastel Painter” status with the International Association of Pastel Societies and is a popular instructor and juror of awards.