For more than five decades, Bill and Jean Stephens have been partners in life and in Art. They met in the RIT Printmaking Studio in 1972, and both later earned their degrees in the RIT MST Arts Education Program. Their teaching skills were sharpened at the AllofUs Art Workshop, then under the leadership of Luvon Sheppard, Art Professor at RIT.
Bill taught at FLCC and in the Webster CSD, mentoring hundreds of successful future artists and arts educators, until retiring a few years ago. Jean has taught classes out of her own studio and they both continue to offer classes at The Mill Art Center in Honeoye Falls.
Across these fifty plus years, their artwork and artistic processes have continued to evolve and expand. There is a support “mechanism” built into their relationship. I have had the honor and privilege to witness this seamless support both as a friend and colleague in past, and ongoing settings, within our profession.
Beyond their partnership, Bill and Jean are individually exceptional artists. They enjoy a remarkable setting for their home and studio practices. Even though the style of Jean and Bill's work differs widely, that work is highly influenced by the natural world around them. As individual artists, they have exhibited their work in the Greater Rochester region and nationally. In many cases, both have won competitions, awards and been asked to speak and present their unique techniques-processes and artistic philosophies at: galleries, workshops and university settings across their long careers. They continue to work, teach, mentor and grow...as artists and as valued pARTners. - Bob Geroux
Blue Moon mixed media collage. Jean Stephens
Golden Shield mixed media collage. Jean Stephens
Sweet Spot mixed media collage. Jean Stephens
Untitled #11 ink on paper. Bill Stephens
Untitled #10 ink on paper. Bill Stephens
Black and White Series #1. Bill Stephens
Co-Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism
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Official Call for Co-Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism Entrieshere!
The exhibition Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism debuted in Rochester, New York – home to Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass – along with an eponymous catalogue (RIT Press, 2019). Works by the 30 artists explored how handwork probes the vulnerabilities of citizenship status, while also working toward positive social change. Over the following two years, the exhibit traveled to four additional venues in the Northeast U.S., realizing opportunities for community, conversation, and critique.
Now, the exhibition is back in an entirely new form – a “redux” that seeks to co-craft democracy. Curators Juilee Decker and Hinda Mandell, in reviving their show concept, are expanding the notion of democracy to the exhibition form itself: all work that is submitted to the show will be accepted and displayed.*
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