Who’s Stephanie A. Smelser
Mother, Daughter, Educator, Visual art awareness artist, Visual activist, Certified Art therapist, Published Curriculum Writer, Friend , a Boxer dog lover, and a Snowball lover.
May 5, 2014 – July 17, 2022 – Stony forever in many Hearts
Steff Smelser’s brain is woven to use S.T.E.A.M. Disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) as her default program. Her braided S.T.E.A.M. fibers live within her soul and create many multi-layered cloths of innovative design thinking for units of study. Stephanie taught at a small STEM-based magnet school in New Haven yet on Friday the 13th of March 2020 this and many other schools began temporarily closing. Many doors opened eventually yet this school closed forever. Smelser as well as many other teachers were forced to relocate. By summer 2020 the divisions that existed within many communities and even families were just sad to Stephanie. Not only did Stephanie see firsthand how remote education was not serving the whole elementary school child’s development she saw how older young adults were twisted internally. The remote learning model was also not serving many families. The mental health of people became compromised. This all began as catalysts for change. Stephanie obtained her art therapist certification. Stephanie is a creative force, one to be reckoned with. She teaches her own 3 kids as well as over hundreds of students each year to self-advocate for silence is dangerous!! Stephanie so wished to close the Covid chapter of one door and open new warm doors!
This said artist Stephanie collaborated with BACA Art Gallery. BACA is a local Connecticut art gallery Smelser painted doors designed to metaphorically show the ending of one cycle or closing of one door and to begin new cycles and open new doors of unknown possibilities! BACA’s outside art door show was to encourage people to start returning outside to support community stores, restaurants, galleries, and more.
Einstein, a famous scientist said: “Imagination is more important than acknowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
Stephanie Smelser loves inviting the imagination, to open doors of possibility as well as ending cyclic swirling patterns going nowhere especially ending silence for talking is human.
Helping BACA Open “The Painted Doors of Branford”
https://www.zip06.com/person-of-the-week/20201028/helping-baca-open-the-painted-doors-of-branford/In 2021 and 2023 Stephanie also contacted Joann Moran from Lots of Fish. Together with over 100 students they painted on the streets of New Haven. Together they used pink sidewalk chalk to positively blend people, ideas, and create a community street awareness mural together. Students learned how water goes down the sewer drain and eventually leads to the ocean.
Imagination is the only thing that can open up our minds and our hearts to the possibility of the successful and fulfilling future that we all envision for ourselves but that may seem out of reach because we currently don’t have the knowledge to see the exact path or direction to take the next step to the unknown.
Smelser’s Art themes include circles, Venn diagrams, centering, pregnant bellies, spirals, radishes, circles of life, universal spheres, space, time, infinity, limitlessness, eternity, endless possibilities in mathematics and metaphorically with respect to love, birth, explorations, transformations, shedding, deaths, acceptances, and rebirths!!
The clock hands move so does each new cycle with a beginning, middle, and ending. Drawing our minds both from the past in reflection with much gratitude as well as to imagine the future in pure settled peace. Having acceptance or resolution in NOW!
The circular manhole series touches on these exact principles.
2010 Manhole series began as a visual invitation into the inspection chamber. This small circular covered opening on the floor, pavement, or other surfaces allows a person to enter. This is a special opening for only selected people to be invited into the city street hole leading to the sewer line. In short the vertical hole in the ground, to the underground sewer pipeline it’s a very complex system. If there is any leakage or blockage in the underground sewer pipeline-much gratitude exists for the willingness of one to go down there for deep tending. This Manhole series consists of drains from CT, NY, AZ, and CA.
You can contact the artist directly for more information on this Manhole series which often is on display at selected galleries.
Stephanie loves installation art as well and welcomes opportunities to use the arts to bring about change or to address issues that need addressing!!! Since silence is dangerous!
Stephanie as a young child was influenced by Yale because her grandfather attended Yale. Arthur Sachs inspired Smelser at a young age with his core way of living and working. He was proud when her art made the New Haven district art show as an elementary-aged child. Arthur would repeatedly teach her about Art History and take her to museum art trips.
Stephanie has taken the power of arts to conquer adversity. Arts have been gifts to the soul. Arthur Samuel Sachs worked hard to help bridge the gaps and Stephanie Ann Smelser uses her skills to bridge gaps as well. Sachs shared his favorite works of Albert Bierstadt and Pablo Picasso with Stephanie. Stephanie began her recreated series in 1994 first creating some of this art for him. Stephanie recreated a few famous works yet always with a twist. Arthur’s top favorite, First Steps (1881-1973) piece, was painted and set aside near his bedside for his final years.
Interpretation of Picasso’s First Steps
Interpretation of Grant Wood’s American Gothic
Interpretation of Mary Cassatt’s Mother and Child
Belly Cast Artist Recreation
From Arthur Sachs Stephanie saw firsthand the power of the arts to manage adversity that arises or comes into life. Stephanie, now a certified art therapist, uses art to help others grow and heal.