STEPHANIE STUEFER
Instructor Bio:
I was born in Sarasota, Florida and I spent a lot of my childhood on the beach building sandcastles. My love of making things with my hands undoubtedly began in those early years. The impermanence of sandcastles also instilled in me a love of process over product. Teaching and making art are both endeavors that require a love of process with a vision for a creative product. Thanks to the great teachers I had, by the time I was 14 I knew that the fields of education and art were my biggest passions and that a career that merged them was the right one for me. My passion for the field of educational leadership is founded in the belief that we are all creative, and that learning and teaching should be, and often are, primarily creative endeavors. I believe that thinking creatively, and with an interdisciplinary mindset, is essential to all fields. I have lived in 15 different cities since Sarasota. I was on a quest to learn from as many different people and places as I could because I thought that being a good teacher and artist required a solid variety of experiences. Plus, I had wanderlust. I currently live in Clarkesville, GA with my family and I teach at the school of my dreams, Tallulah Falls School.
I believe that building creative confidence and inspiring a love of art are two of the most important responsibilities of an art educator. Great art teaching requires a balance between individual attention and group leadership; between technical instruction and conceptual development. Inspiring art students to be strongly self-motivated and confident in their direction is a vital component to the art studio.
Education:
1998 - 2001 University of Georgia Athens, GA BFA, Bachelor of Fine Art
2004 – 2006 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA Post Baccalaureate Study
2006 – 2009 MFA, Master of Fine Art University of Florida Gainesville, FL
2015 - 2016 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA M.S.Ed
Experience:
2022-current
Tallulah Falls School
Upper School Visual Arts Teacher, teaching grades 9-12 both 2D and 3D visual art techniques and concepts with students in levels 1 through 4 with a focus on design thinking skills, portfolio development and a visiting artist program
2006-2009
University of Florida Gainesville, FL
Instructor, 3D Concepts and Wheel Throwing semester courses for undergraduate students
2001-2006 ▪ Studio Teacher, Resident Artist, Studio Manager, Studio Assistant, teaching ages pre-K through adults collaborating with other artists at a variety of community/ inner city art centers in the US and abroad:
Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO
Dunedin, New Zealand and visiting artist at Otago Polytechnic Institute
Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL
International Ceramic Research Center, Guldagergaard, Denmark
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC