Artist of the Month: KASI roster staff

STEPHANIE MANN

I admit that I am obsessed by Art of all types, totally hyper focused! I only leave
my home studio in Toogoolawah under duress as I am happiest and most
productive there. I was always creating something from a very young age, yet
never had the opportunity to pursue a skill professionally under my 50s! I
graduated with an Honours Degree in Visual Arts in 2013. Since then I have
exhibited nationally and won many prizes for my paintings as well as wooden
carvings. I taught hand bound book making for 2 years. I teach carving and
lapidary at my home studio.
As an expressionist artist I use a lot of acrylic colour in my artworks. Every time
you look at one of my paintings you will see a different shape. Many have tens of
layers of paint, and they expose images at different times.
When sculpting, I utilize materials such as wood and steel alongside marble and
semi-precious stone to challenge how a society will apportion a value to a subject.
I source local wood, sandstone and marble, yet sell my work all over the World.
Working with gem stones gives me the opportunity to choose stones which are
normally ignored by society, yet are beautiful and unique. I have my own
workshop where I cut and polish these, before setting them into whichever
adornment compliments them the most.
Hand-binding books and often creating the paper myself provides me with a great
variety of covers, stitch types, sizes to choose from. I particularly enjoy buying the
leather from a local leather specialist, cutting and sewing it myself. When creating
a metal cover, I love to etch a picture into it which is specific to the buyer, to create
a keepsake. I even make hand linked chainmail for costumes and as jewellery. If
you have a project, just ask, you would be surprised what I have in my workshop!