Artist Statement
My love of art began at an early age. I loved my high school art classes, and in college (Principia College), I developed a love for watercolor thanks to my art teacher, Glenn Felch. After spending many years after college exploring this medium, I realized that as much as I loved painting floral watercolors, my true desire was to joyfully express more of God through images that express whimsy and lightheartedness. These images are painted in acrylics or oils on hard-board panels or canvases, and constructed with hand-crafted felt.
The whimsy comes from memories of a childhood full of creativity and inspired moments of teaching art to young children along with a variety of unexpected sources. (I once saw a silly, simple drawing in chalk on a sidewalk in Los Angeles that I carried with me for two decades before constructing it in felt.) I hope my work encourages the viewer to ponder something lighthearted and perhaps allows them to embrace their inner child-likeness—and brings them a smile.
Biography
Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, with three siblings, silliness, humor, and creative play were a large part of Stephanie’s childhood.
Stephanie spent many after-school hours and summer days playing outside or finding creative things to do inside. She and her siblings stitched and glued together puppets and held puppet shows for neighborhood kids, found scrap wood from their Dad's workshop to build "clubhouses", and played with a mountain of dish soap bubbles in their small plastic backyard pool. They also had countless neighborhood parades with costumes, bikes, wagons, batons, and plastic instruments.
Stephanie is confident this was where her love of creativity and whimsy began. Stephanie attended Principia College in Elsah, Illinois where she developed her love of creativity further through her focus in art and received a B.A. in Studio Art in 1985.
After college, Stephanie lived in Southern California for several years before returning to Memphis where she learned to create digital art. During this time, Stephanie illustrated a self-published children’s book for a friend, The Alphabet Rebellion, by Chet Manchester. Stephanie moved to St. Louis in 1997 where she spent many years as a freelance illustrator working with ad agencies while also creating functional art,--some of which was featured in Outdoor Casual, a Better Homes and Garden magazine. It was during this time that Stephanie also began teaching art to young children which she did for over 25 years. Currently, Stephanie teaches part-time in an early childhood program in St. Louis where she shares her love of art and spends afternoons painting and creating hand-crafted felt in her Kirkwood studio.
Stephanie created a YouTube channel for teaching art to children. You’ll find it by clicking the link below for PurpleDaisyStudio
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2jDSIjUMZLbIYadYi5yOQw
