Opening Reception:
Tuesday, July 29, 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Stefani Job Spears holds a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. She has been teaching Visual Arts throughout the state for thirty years. As an artist-in-residence for the Texas Commission on the Arts, Spears developed curriculum and fine art standards for public schools. In addition, Spears has taught art, and developed events and programs for the Southwest School of Art and Saint Mary's Hall. Her innovative art works frequently cross media boundaries, combining handmade paper, printmaking, oils and watercolors that reflect her love of nature and landscapes.

Artist Statement:

Once, I discovered a three-leaf clover with a diamond dewdrop resting on its surface, magnifying the webs of intricate cell work and reflecting tiny spectrums of color. I think I was in first grade and nonetheless remember trying desperately to save it. It had to be captured; it had to be preserved. Miraculously, it had the heat of the desert sun long enough to be treasured and recognized as "a thing of beauty." Its' life was tragically brief and beautiful. As my inspection of the world gained perspective, I began to realize that reproducing nature, copying nature's sublime beauty was an impossibly futile effort. Nature has the remarkable ability to change each season, each day, each moment.

The works have developed from a penchant to explore the strangely paradoxical, symbiotic relationship between man and nature. This is reflected in the simultaneous uniting and fracturing of compositional elements. Color is the primary character in my prints, oil paintings and watercolors, leading me to explore the fractal possibilities found in nature. When we look at a work of art, we see only ourselves; whatever we feel, whatever we believe is what we see before us.

My intention is not only to create "a thing of beauty, but a sensation, a recollection, a different perception, but a glimpse inside ourselves and souls."