All my life I have loved to create art and I vividly remember making my first rabbit drawing (Tippy was her name). When my mom called me an artist, I believed her. Even though the road has been a bit bumpy with finding my calling as an art teacher, I’ve learned a lot of new and inspiring things about the world and myself.
I grew up in Honolulu, HI in the small town of Kapahulu and went to several schools before attending and graduating from Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate, Kapalama. I then pursued my artistic path at the University of the Pacific where I earned my B. A. in Art with a Minor in Music. Although I wanted to teach art, UOP did not have an art credential program so I opted to obtain a credential in Special Education. I was a bit burned out from creating art so I focused on graduate work and became an Education Specialist in the Stockton Unified School District from 2006-2011.
From 2009-2018 most of my time was spent raising our three boys so I rarely picked up a paintbrush or a pencil to create. Around 2016, some major life events became the catalyst for asking God what my purpose was in this life. I knew that art was the first thing that I really enjoyed as a child but teaching art to anyone seemed like a daunting task. I spent a lot of time looking over curriculum, IG posts and Youtube videos to figure out how to begin. With little experience but a lot of heart, I started Stephanie’s Art Studio in the Spring of 2019! Since then it has been a pleasure to teach art to children and let them experiment with materials in my art classes. I’ve also been able to further develop my own skills as an artist, which has been a huge blessing.
Thanks for stopping by to find out more about who I am and how this studio got started! I hope that your child will be able to visit us one day!
