Andi Ipaktchi

 

Born into a large Irish-Catholic family in Pennsylvania in 1965, Andrea attended school in Columbia, Maryland and Norwalk, Connecticut. Her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Parsons School of Design in New York led her to Paris where she began her career in 3-d animation for vehicle simulators for Renault. Always drawn to progress and technology, she branched out and made graphics for some of the first internet sites as early as 1994. 

 

Marriage, babies, fun, as well as some sorrow, set her career into the background. Anxious to get back on track in 2006, she began to illustrate for children drawing murals, illustrations and animations.  She led as a volunteer Illustration Coordinator for the French chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators until 2018 where she had the privilege of meeting many talented people in that community. She became a 2016 laureate of the UK and European competition 'Undiscovered Voices' for her illustration work which was featured in the British newspaper 'The Guardian'.  Unpublished she continues to work on her craft. 

 

Her printmaking work and a desire to exhibit in a gallery resulted in submitting an entry for an art competition in Paris sponsored by Gallerie Métanoia. Her submission was not accepted and won first prize amongst hundreds of entries. This boost led her to an artist's residency in Ireland where she met her future writing partner. 

 

She continues to illustrate for restaurants, fashion houses, and lifestyle brands and also enjoys creating portraits and accepting various commissions.  

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In 2020, she co-wrote "RETREAT, An Audio Comedy" with short story writer Aoibheann McCann. They were invited to do a live reading at the Athenry Heritage Center in Galway.  Stay tuned for their 6 part audio fiction comedy series coming soon.  

 

Her greatest source of inspiration comes from her husband, two sons, and other animals including her cherished friends.