ARTIST STATEMENT

I grew up in a family that valued craftsmanship and enjoyed creating handmade objects. Our house was decorated with crocheted blankets, handcrafted curtains and embroidered pictures created by my mother's hands. The outside of our house was beautifully landscaped with greenery and an abundant vegetable garden harvested by my father who was also a mechanic. My grandmother latch hooked the pillows on our couch and the tree skirt around the Christmas tree. When I was younger I mistakenly disregarded my family as artists and felt they did not support my artistic decisions but later came to appreciate that I am an artist because of them. 

My current work explores a variety of memories and experiences encountered along the life-altering journey of motherhood. At the age of three, my non-verbal daughter was diagnosed with autism thus beginning a long and arduous journey of numerous therapies and interventions. Because of this, language plays an important role and is disassembled as well as duplicated in a variety of mediums. Sentimentality and practicality is at the core of my choice of materials while many of the techniques used relate back to my childhood.

BIO

Stephanie received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jewelry/Metals and Art Teacher Certification from New Jersey City University in 2006. Since then she has taught visual art in the Jersey City Public Schools, both at a middle school level and now at high school where she teaches Sculpture and Ceramics. Stephanie is the founder of an online support group for parents of children with autism in Jersey City, NJ where she currently lives with her young daughter.