Stephanie's Studio

                                                             (Female Mask - Igbo People) I have been working with mask making the last few weeks. They are simple, self-drying clay masks.  Now that one of them is ready for some paint I have started to look it at more as a symbol. Today, when I looked at it though I realized it was quite grotesque and well, in a word hideous. But in all its ugliness, that is what masks can be for us.  The beauty is that a mask can be whatever we want it to be and used for a diverse array of purposes.                                                              (Okuyi Mask - Punu People) What happens when we peel away the ...

This diptych is a large oil on paper called, “Parkway Garden.”   It was done during the fall in plein air during several outdoor painting sessions in my front yard.   Then I took the panels into my studio and finished the painting, looking down on the garden.   That was done in my old studio which had a nice bay of windows that overlooked the gardens and street.   It was a square-shaped studio which I don't think is so good for creative flow. Now my studio is very rectangular and more in the middle of the house, upstairs and still has lots of windows that provide beautiful natural light.   It is under construction, which feels weird.   I like the consistency of having my studio relatively unchanged and everything in the same spot.   But that is the way I’ve worked for years and it is good to change things up.   I also think the rectangular shape helps the work flow better and there is much more room to expand my vision....

Writing brings immense pleasure. It has been an important part of my life since high school when I got seriously involved with poetry. Writing a book is both challenging and pleasurable. It is a daily practice and it requires a great deal of energy and discipline. Typically, I try to write early in the morning, for at least a couple of hours, particularly when I am working on a book project or article. Seeing the finished product, all of your words, folded into the beautiful form of a book that is a precious gift. I love vintage books, first editions, antique hardcovers and finding signed copies of old books. As much as I enjoy creating a written book I also love to deconstruct them, in order to make altered book art. I first started working in that medium about 20 years ago; while teaching at the Art Institute, working with an old volume of faded-denim-blue Shakespeare books that I bought from the farmer’s market in New Jersey called Cow Town. The interior art in the altered books was...