I'm Amanda McCallister, though most people know the work as Alice Absolutely. I am a third-generation Floridian, and Florida has shaped nearly every part of the way I see the world: its wildlife, its strange edges, its old towns, its working landscapes, and the wild places that still surprise me no matter how long I have lived here.

Before Alice Absolutely became my full-time studio practice, my work moved through literature, education, libraries, arts programming, leadership, and community work. I spent years teaching English and American literature, developing educational programs, working with artists and cultural organizations, and helping people make meaning from stories. That history still lives inside the artwork. I am interested not only in what a species looks like, but in what it means to a place and to the people who live beside it.

My primary process is paint carving: building a surface through many layers of paint, then cutting back through those layers by hand to reveal the image. It is slow, physical, and irreversible. Long before I make the first cut, I am usually in the field photographing, observing, researching, sketching, and learning the ecological story behind the subject.

That process became the Florida Field Guide Project, an ongoing artist-led exploration of Florida's wildlife, habitats, research, and conservation stories. The project moves between the studio and the field through original carvings, digital editions, exhibitions, public programs, and collaborations with people working to understand and protect Florida.

I live and work in Central Florida, and I still believe the best way to care about Florida is to know it well. The Field Guide is my way of paying attention, recording what I find, and inviting other people to look close, too.