Stephanie K. Clark was born in Portland, Oregon. Her family later moved to a farm in the small town of Urbana, Missouri where she grew up. Stephanie has always had a passion for art and being creative in whatever life gives her. She has always been supported by great family and friends throughout all her creative endeavors. Even though she’s loved cultivating her hand at art during her high-school years, her passion for creating art really blossomed while attending Dixie State College in southern Utah 2006. Stephanie then decided to take her art education further, studying her undergrad in Painting and Drawing at the University of Utah; where she graduated Fall of 2011. In Stephanie’s experience at the University of Utah, she had learned by many of her instructors in whom feels has really pushed her to grow creatively and conceptually in her work. Stephanie had explored many mediums and ways of creating art. She then discovered her love for working with embroidery and thread drawings (drawing with her sewing machine). Most of Stephanie’s work consists of fiber art, mixing paint and thread/embroidery. Stephanie is currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah with her dearest husband/Sculptor Artist Robin Clark and her two children. Stephanie has shown in many galleries throughout the country and completed an art residency at the Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah 2013. She spends most of her time being a mommy, a wife, and an artist; sewing, painting, embroidering and pursuing any avenue to exploring the creative process.
I consider myself a painter and I paint with thread. The process of transforming string into art struck me as something visually stimulating with complex simplicity. My background in painting has allowed me to explore the material using techniques from the worlds of drawing and painting. Engaging both traditional and innovative techniques in employing formal qualities with density, texture and pattern. The embroidery floss is my palette and the needle is my paintbrush. Embroidery has had its way with me, leading me from hobby to art. My work is an ode and influenced by the worlds of tapestry and my love for craft. Using thread instead of oils has allowed me to bring new purpose to my painting process. My work blurs the lines between fine art and craft. I like to think I can reclaim the word “craft” which contains the idea of an unusual frame of knowledge and skill passed on from generation to generation. The use of craft such as embroidery fits my concept of domesticity, therefore my process and material becomes involved in the concept of my work.
