Stephanie Cionca

A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE ARTIST

1. What do you do when you’re not making art? (Day job etc...).

I recently left my career teaching art to K-9th graders. After twenty-two beautiful years of working with young artists, I am on a new adventure helping families in the world of school admissions. I work from home with my five rescues: two cats, and three dogs. When I am not working or painting, I enjoy time with my partner Matt, gardening, cooking, hiking, playing with our pack, and reading a good book. Most recently I have read Susan Cain's Bittersweet. I highly recommend this book for creatives.

2. Why do you make art?

I have been creating art for as long as I can remember. It has always been the best way for me to make sense of a world I never truly felt comfortable in. The process of creating allows me to be my true self and share a part of myself with others.

3. What inspires you?

I have always closely watched how nonhumans interact with one another and humans. Ever since I was a little girl, I was enthralled with nature spending hours watching ants move along invisible highways up and down a cherry tree, observing how rabbits would lay flat when I walked my dog by them, and looking carefully and closely at a plant hoping to see it grow. Today, my love of art and nature come together in quirky acrylic paintings inspired by mid-century modern design, pop art, and the fables I read as a kid. My playful compositions often anthropomorphize creatures or offer a glimpse into fantastic places where human and nonhuman worlds collide. My work celebrates the individual personalities and spirits of all sentient beings.

4. What/who are your influences?

I am influenced by Mid Century Modern Design, Oaxacan Wood Sculpture, and pop artists like Kieth Haring and Tom Wesselmann.

5. If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be?

Maya Angelou.