Introducing QAN Committee Member, Amanda Jones

Amanda attends QAN Committee Meetings regularly and is part of the Communications Group. She posts on Facebook on the QAN and LEP pages and in the QAN Facebook group, where you’ve probably seen her name popping up. 

In her childhood her late Mum inspired Amanda to be creative. From the early days of the 1980s making from ‘junk’ she learned to sew, draw, paint and play music. She created her first poetry book aged 8 and illustrated it, at the moment she is working on publishing a novel she wrote when she was 10-12 years old. Writing has always been a passion and Amanda has self published and published work, genres include short stories, nonfiction, horror and poetry. She is writing many poems on Climate Justice currently, inspired by a Woodbrooke course, and sharing them online @amandababer and @amanda_jones_aka_baber_author for awareness. Her poems can be seen on YouTube @missysmatters. Having campaigned for the environment since the 1980s Amanda is very keen on climate change action.

Born into Christianity Amanda first researched Quakerism as a teenager, discovered her Great Great Aunt was a Quaker emigrating to Saskatchewan, then became a Quaker herself in 2018. Like so many she felt she had found home. She lives in Okehampton, Devon and shares Clerking within her local meeting, being the correspondent.

Making soft toys for Moorfield’s Eye Hospital Amanda and her Mum donated hundreds of them as a thank you for helping her Mum with her blindness. For many years Amanda ran an online shop Missy’s Matters selling crafts and artwork through Conscious Crafties, a platform for disabled entrepreneurs. Amanda made her first charity book called Missy and the Whitts at this time and blogs on her website. You can read Missy and the Old Fossils here too.

Becoming disabled has impacted on Amanda’s life, and through the changes she has adapted. She has a very rare disease called relapsing polychondritis which attacks cartilage throughout the body. Previously, for many years, she was a handbell musician and the national editor for the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain. Now she sings including with a Singing for Wellness Choir for people with respiratory problems. She also plays piano, harp and ukulele.

Amanda still uses her graphic design skills from her work today and loves her garden and wildlife, having previously been a garden designer.

She loves being part of the Quaker Arts Network and sharing skills, ideas and Quakerly creativity.