Interview With Visual Artist Amey Mathews

Join me in a conversation with Santa Cruz-based visual artist Amey Mathews as we discuss her “Petting Zoo Recipes”’ series. Through her art, Amey offers a thought-provoking look at our food choices and their impact on animals. In this interview, we’ll uncover more about Amey’s creative process and the powerful messages behind her work.

Today I’m excited to share my conversation with Amey Mathews, a talented visual artist and yoga teacher whose work speaks volumes. I first discovered Amey through her fun food blog, Vegan Eats and Treats, and later met her in person at the last Vida Vegan Con, about six years ago. Amey’s deep love for her dogs and all animals, compassionate spirit, and curiosity have always struck a chord with me.

Recently, I stumbled upon a series of her artworks on Facebook, aptly named “Petting Zoo Recipes,” and I was blown away by it. This series Amey created beautifully overlays masterfully drawn illustrations of children with animals onto cookbook pages, striking at the heart of what some contemplate often: the intricate bond we share with the animal world.

The power of these pieces lies in their soft yet profound juxtaposition: the animals with which the children are lovingly interacting are the very ones listed as ingredients in the recipes. This artistic choice by Amey bridges the gap between “comfort food” and the living beings behind these dishes, prompting a deeper reflection on our food choices.

Amey’s work gracefully opens a dialogue rather than prescribing a viewpoint. It challenges viewers to think about the innate compassion a child has towards animals, set against the backdrop of their culinary use.

In our conversation, we dive into what inspired Amey to create this series, what she hopes viewers will take away from it, and where you can find more of her stunning artwork.

Interview With Amey Mathews, Visual Artist

I’m curious about what sparked the idea for “Petting Zoo Recipes“. Could you share a bit about what inspired you to start this unique series and why you titled it in this way?

I started this series during a residency with my art mentors. The idea of the residency was to make connections between contemporary art history and the themes we explore in our own work. There are a lot of artists working in very engaging ways with imagery and text to explore the realms of social justice, gender issues, and racial justice. I was inspired by a number of artists and their work to explore combining imagery and text – but in regards to human-animal relations.

As you know, I’ve been a committed vegan for a long time now (36 year vegetarian, the last 25 of those as a vegan). My own commitment to veganism/vegetarianism has always been connected to a simple and clear sense of compassion for all living beings.

Veganism and my yoga practice are the two longest commitments and practices in my life and they are essentially inseparable for me at this point. Well, and my art practice too of course. Up until the last few years, I really hadn’t figured out how to start incorporating issues or ideas around animals and veganism into my art, but lately it has been coming to the foreground. Increasingly, I am exploring ideas of inter-species connections in my art and it feels close to my heart.

The title for these works really came from an intuitive place – pointing at the discomfort of those two ideas together (“petting zoos” and “recipes”) and the disconnect that so many people have between the animals they love and the animals they eat.

Your series beautifully juxtaposes the innocence of children with the stark reality of food choices. What are the key insights or reflections you hope your audience will take away from these illustrations?

It’s always fascinated me how naturally children are drawn to animals, plants, insects, rocks, and the natural world at large. If you have ever tried to walk down the block with a 3-year-old, you know what I mean. It’s wonderful. And so many of the classic children’s books feature animals – ABC books with different animals, books about farm animals, books about animals from around the world, books with friendly characters who are animals … even stuffed animals and wooden animals for toys.

When you’re out in the world, you’ll see parents stop and point out a pigeon or a little parking lot bird to their kids with great enthusiasm—and the kids love it. As a society, we love and nurture the connection between animals and children.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of those folks are also eating and serving their kids chicken nuggets, burgers, and so on. I have a really particular memory of the betrayal I felt as a kid when I tasted an appetizer at a party and then found out it was lamb. I was so upset. Many of us vegetarians and vegans become veg*n at the age when we make this connection and don’t want to be complicit.

So with this body of work, I am thinking about all of this – the connection between teaching children to love animals, taking kids to petting zoos, and encouraging them to hold the animals, to see the animals as special, as friends. The impulse to take adorable pictures, to witness your child’s joy and innate sense of camaraderie with the animals … and the disconnect between all that and then also serving yourself and your children meat.

Your art has the potential to touch a wide array of hearts and minds. What are your hopes for how different viewers, irrespective of their dietary lifestyles, will take away from your work?

With these drawings, I am reaching for a juxtaposition inside the viewer’s mind—to simultaneously access the feelings of tenderness, warmth, affection, and innocence with the images of children and animals—while also accessing the part of the mind that might flip through recipes while planning dinner.

In some drawings, the drawing is dominant, and then the recipe emerges up from below … and in other drawings the recipe is dominant and then you see the image. It’s up to the viewer what they do when those two experiences connect inside them.

In truth, there is an endless supply of very important issues in this world—affecting human beings, social & racial justice, the environment, our immediate communities and far-away communities, agriculture, wildlife, water systems, education … and so on.

I don’t necessarily think veganism is the most important issue. But it’s very important to me, and it’s something concrete that I am committed to; which helps me live in alignment with my values, and clears up mental/emotional energy to learn about and work on other issues as well.

As we navigate a world where what we eat is closely tied to ethical questions, in what ways do you think “Petting Zoo Recipes” can help shape or influence these crucial discussions about our food choices and their impact?

I wouldn’t want to overestimate the influence of my drawings in particular. I do think that a lot more people are learning about animal agriculture, and realizing that the reality is vastly different than the quaint images of farming we were raised with.

In general, a person’s diet is a very intimate choice between them and the ecosystem of their body-disposition-needs-health. After so many years of veganism, I have made a deliberate choice not to proselytize much—I haven’t ever found that approach to be well received and often it is not even done with much kindness.

Vegans are often ridiculed or the butt of the joke. There’s a part of me that “gets it,” because occasionally I find vegan messaging is too acidic even for me. And yet, the part of my heart that chose to commit to veganism is in fact a very tender, sacred place inside me.

To go through the world as an “easygoing, friendly vegan” requires continually committing to that gentle place, but also safeguarding it from the realities of the world: menus at restaurants, grocery stores full of meat and animal products, newspaper articles about millions of chickens or pigs being slaughtered because of some flu or another, and all the jokes and jabs about veganism.

Somewhat to my own surprise, it feels quite vulnerable to make these drawings and expose my true feelings on this subject. Most people who are vegan immediately love these drawings … and people who aren’t really don’t know what to say. I think that’s okay.

Perhaps the images will just percolate in someone’s heart or subconscious. Perhaps connecting these ideas through tender and gentle imagery will have a different impact than going straight at someone with logic or judgment or harsh wording.

As we wrap up our talk, can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects? Where can people find more of your beautiful artwork?

Thanks, Erin, and thanks for your interest in my work. It really means a lot to me. When I’m making art, I tend to have a few different lines of inquiry going at once. Sometimes I’m doing oil painting, sometimes drawings, digital work, mixed media collages … it’s all over the place.

That said, lately my heart returns over and over to ideas around human engagement with non-human animals, with the natural world, with plants, with the ecosystem, with each other. I’m drawn to themes of compassion, tenderness, and wonder. So that’s what I am exploring when I’m in my art space, regardless of what medium I’m working with.

I expect to keep investigating the ideas in my Petting Zoo recipes and see where they lead me, as well as a few other series I am also still working on.

Coming up, I will be participating in an online art benefit sale to raise money for KinderUSA – a non-profit that focuses on children in Gaza. This sale is organized by an international group of artists that I am part of, and this will be our 3rd annual benefit. This year, the sale will be launched in March – at arts4action.com. (For now, the site still has information about our last fundraising effort). All the work will sell for $250, which includes shipping anywhere in the world.

I post art on my art Instagram @ameymathews and I also have a website ameymathews.com. (Since this interview is also about veganism, I’ll just mention that I share cute pet pictures and vegan food on my other insta @ameyfm!!)

Thank you, Amey, for this inspiring and enlightening discussion. I deeply appreciate the work you create and the thoughtful conversation it has sparked among us. And to our readers, thank you for joining us! I hope this discussion has touched you in the same way it has deeply moved me.

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This post was last updated on July 10, 2024.