Black Forest Designs mixed media art by Stephanie Thomas
Art, for me, is a combination of environment, purpose and meaning. Many of my works relate directly to historical events in my life. I take a critical look at social, political, and cultural issues. In my work, I follow the American dream, a part of our childhood and adult culture, with social awareness. Having engaged subjects as diverse as manned flight awareness, southern rock music, and modernist architecture, my work reproduces familiar visual signs, arranging them into new conceptually layered pieces. I am ever changing my ideas and will come back to projects with new incite on how to add new dimension.
My style and techniques are ever changing and have much to do with what I find around me. As I walk through life, I am constantly seeing things that can be re purposed and made to fit the structure of a new environment. As a sculptor at heart, many of my paintings start to take on a three-dimensional characteristic. I often incorporate objects I find in everyday life into my paintings just as I would in a sculptural piece. Repurposing is a goal in all my works, finding meaning in the ordinary. It is also a goal to give back in some way from what I have taken. As a naturalist, I feel that I need to produce a piece worthy of the use of its parts.
The search for meaning in our personal life is evident in all of us. While I use a variety of materials and processes in each project, my methodology is consistent. I don’t always know what the end result will be when I start a project, but find it to be an exploration of process. Each project often consists of multiple works, often in a range of different media, grouped around specific themes and meanings. During production new areas of interest arise and lead to the next work. Although there may not always be material similarities between the different projects, they are linked by recurring formal concerns and through the subject matter. When I have come full circle and feel that the result meets my inner expectations, then I am finished. I am never fully satisfied and have to force myself to move on at the right time.
