Stephanie's Studio

I am honored to have been granted an Artist Residency at The Residency Project in Pasadena. There I will have the opportunity to paint en plein air, as well as in the studio. In late summer, I intend to explore the colors, forms, shapes and natural light, particular to Pasadena and the San Gabriels environment. Midway during the residency, you’re invited to come see first hand how the work is developing. I will speak about my writing and art, as well as sign copies of “Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones,” and the newly released, “365 Days of Hoodoo,” and the volume to which I contributed “Llewellyn Spell-Day.” This will be a welcoming event that includes mandala-making, poetry reading and sharing conversation over herbal tea. See you there! Ashe

Earnestine is the main character and protagonist of my second novel, which is a W.I.P. I am very excited about Earnestine. I have spent many hours developing and refining her character. I would be the one guilty of wanting to put an exclamation point behind her name. With about a third of the first draft written, she is a character very much in development. Some days she is a blur and others, she's crystal clear. Recently, I had a breakthrough, wherein I could finally hear how she speaks. Her's is a difficult voice for me to hear and capture. She speaks quietly. The fact that her story takes place in 1947, in Mobile, Alabama and one of the Greek Islands, makes her all the more mysterious. Her diction, colloquialisms, and tone are not all familiar. I enjoy the process of seeing how her voice will come through as the novel develops. I am eager to see her show and tell me how to write her story. As is true of my first work of fiction No Barren Life  the novel  Out of the...

As a painter I was never overly interested in realism. I liked a few realist artist’s works and was always sure to include them in my slide lectures, in case students in my class had a preference for working that way. My first love was impressionism, followed by post-impressionism and then the fauves and abstract expressionists. I prefer contemporary surrealism, where elements of the fantastic are allowed into the picture or even classical surrealism, such as the work of Magritte.                                                  (Magritte, Oil on Canvas - The Donor) As a writer my fiction novels have never been urban realism or any other type of straight forward narrative set in our world, as people generally understand it. I remember first being moved by the work of Carlos Castaneda in art school. He was a controversial figure, particularly prolific ...