ArtPrize 2025: Amy Johnson, ‘Garden of Gems’
With “Garden of Gems,” Johnson employs bead weaving and bead embroidery techniques with hand-cut stones, crystals, handmade polymer clay shapes, and seed beads.
1 Oct. 2025
By Justin Tiemeyer - Contributing Writer
Amy Johnson is a jewelry artist, and her piece, “Garden of Gems” is currently on display at PO(Art)Box, in front of the Ledyard Post Office at 120 Monroe Center, as part of a group entry of micro-installations for ArtPrize’s smallest venue by the Intergalactic Arts Federation.
Johnson’s contribution to the project symbolizes the support she received from the Intergalactic Arts Federation on her creative journey. “Losing my husband Tom in 2015, I was mostly going it alone until I met these amazing artists,” Johnson said.
Johnson stressed how integral it was to receive advice and encouragement from members of both the Intergalactic Arts Federation and another group she joined called Art Girls, which was founded by veteran jewelry artist Bonnie Blandford, and meets for breakfast once a month.
With “Garden of Gems,” Johnson employs bead weaving and bead embroidery techniques with hand-cut stones, crystals, handmade polymer clay shapes, and seed beads. Not only has Johnson entered ArtPrize seven times now, but her work has been published in “Bead & Button Magazine” and in “500 Art Necklaces,” by Lark Books.
Sierra Cole and Todd Ramquist came up with PO(Art)Box in 2017, when a visit to the post office resulted in the discovery of a new gallery. Each individual post office box could display a diorama or micro-installation for one of the world’s smallest and most interesting galleries. Initially, PO(Art)Box could be found inside of the Post Office at Monroe Center, but later Cole acquired some apartment-style mailbox banks from a construction company and set up outside of the post office.
“We all know that ArtPrize is about having a conversation about art,” Cole said. “We just feel that most of the time, that conversation revolves around large-scale works of art. We want to flip that conversation and talk about how small works of art are just as viable as large-scale works. They are just as challenging, time consuming, and complex as their large counterparts.”
The Intergalactic Arts Federation, that group that provided such important support for Johnson during her time of need, but also the group that populates PO(Art)Box with amazing micro-art, also includes Sarah Jean Anderson, Heather Havens, Carrie Hawkins, Brandy Gerber, Monica Stegeman, Barbara Lash, Jillian Renee, Cyndi Len, Michele Miller-Hansen, Deborah Hartman, d’Ann de Simone, Howard Sheltraw, and Rita Shields. David Keister, also a member and contributor, keeps the box maintained and hooked up to solar power.
Each artist has only 360 cubic inches of space for their individual installation, but that limitation has sparked a lot of creativity over the years. As the ancient fable goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and PO(Art)Box is a real test of an artist’s chops.
Amy Johnson’s “Garden of Gems” is just one such gem on display at PO(Art)Box, in front of the Ledyard Post Office at 120 Monroe Center, as part of a group entry with Vote ID 71411 by the Intergalactic Arts Federation. For more on Johnson’s works, check out her website amyjohnsondesigns.com or her Etsy, Facebook, or Instagram pages at handle @amyjohnsondesigns. For more about the Intergalactic Arts Federation and PO(Art)Box check out the website poartbox.com and follow @poartbox on your favorite social media sites.
