Stephanie Smith
Artist/Educator, Writer, TEDx Speaker
& Registered Yoga Instructor (RYT-200)
Bio
As a recent speaker at TEDxLehighRiver with the topic of “Art as a Spiritual Practice: What I’ve Learned from Making 10,000 Mandalas” Stephanie Smith maintains a private working studio as a resident artist at the Banana Factory Arts Center in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and continues to share her processes, practices and personal stories with students in workshops, at spiritual and wellness retreats, and as a guest presenter at local schools and universities.
Artist Statement
I am a self-taught artist with an insatiable hunger for knowledge and understanding. Through expressive art making, meditation, and reflective writing practices, I seek to know myself so I can know what’s bigger than me. As a writer, educator, and public speaker, my overall goal is to be of service to others on their own spiritual journey.
For the last 10 years, I have been obsessively working in an expressive fashion with the sacred circular art form known as mandala as a self-reflective and meditative practice. Creating art for the purpose of spiritual evolution, I have developed a strong belief that process based art can be a powerful tool for transformative personal growth- temporarily silencing our harsh inner critic once the focus on quality has been removed. Working in this way, I believe that anyone may receive the many physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits that art making has to offer.
During this time, I began to learn about the many modern artists who created art for spiritual growth – and developed a special interest in Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian and af Klint. I also studied Carl Jung – the famous Swiss psychoanalyst who brought the Eastern concept of the mandala to the West with the belief that the mandala was a path to our whole self.
After a good friend suggested that I begin sharing these ideas with others, I created a number of process based workshops and learned that one of my greatest joys in life is in guiding people to do things they didn’t think were possible. Once a person is able to turn down the relentless chatter from their harshest inner critic, we discover that the journey is often much more important than the destination.
When people ask me if a particular culture or wisdom tradition has influenced my work, the answer is almost always yes. My inspiration comes from everywhere. I’ve always enjoyed working with whatever medium suits me in the moment. Favorites include gouache, colored pencil. acrylic paint, found object assemblages, or even just a single white pencil on a black piece of paper.
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2016 Banana Factory Resident Artist Annual Exhibition, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
2015 RiverJazz, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA
2014 National Association of Women Artists Members Annual, New York, NY
2013 ACE Group Show MCS Gallery, Sigal Museum, Easton, PA
2012 “First Amendment” Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Solo Exhibitions:
2016, 2014, 2013, 2012 Featured Artist, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
2016 Oddscapes series I, Studio #250 Bethlehem, PA
2013 South Side Smalls: The Red Collection Studio #250 Bethlehem, PA
Selected Workshops:
Workshop “Mandala: An Artful Meditation” presented to, or at:
• 2015-16 The Barn Community Art Workshop, Emmaus, PA
• 2016 Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
• 2014 The Swain School, Allentown, PA
• 2011-13 Intro to Art Therapy, Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA
• 2009-13 The Summer Rhythm Renewal Retreat, Loretto, PA|
• 2013 HeART Series, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
• 2012 The Baum School of Art, Allentown, PA
• 2011 South Mountain College, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
• 2010 The Great Rhythm Revival Retreat, Sherman, NY
Additional Workshops:
• 2016 “Creative Goal Setting”
• 2014-15 “The Creative Path: An Intro to Manifesting Abundance”
• 2012,15 “Creating a Manifestation List”
• 2014 “Tapping the Source” w/ Dr. Kell Morton
• 2012 “Fearless Artmaking”
Selected Presentations, Artist Talks, etc.
• 2016 TEDxLehighRiver Speaker “Art as a Spiritual Practice: What I’ve Learned from Making 10,000 Mandalas” Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown, PA
• 2014-16 Artist talk, Northampton Community College Fine Art Students, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
• 2015 Artist talk, Moravian College Museum Studies Students, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
• 2014-15 Guest Panel Speaker: Art Entrepreneurship in the Community, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
• 2014 Visiting Artist at The Swain School in Allentown, PA (Included student body assemblies and classroom visits)
• 2012-2014 Career representative, Multicultural Leadership Conference, Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA
• 2011 Artist talk, South Mountain College students, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Organizations and Associations:
• Women’s Caucus for Art Philadelphia Chapter 2015
• National Association of Women Artists Juried Member 2014-2015
• Lehigh Art Alliance Member 2015
• Yoga Alliance RYT-200 August 2015 – Current
Honors Of Note:
• Original painting: “Seek” selected for the cover of “Cloud Eagle” a historical recording of Towa songs from the Seasonal Dance Group of the Jemez and Zuni Pueblos 2014
• Juried member of N.A.W.A. (National Association of Women Artists ) 2014
• Mural “She Continues to Grow” installed at HTTA Center in Allentown, PA 2012
• Became resident Artist at Banana Factory Arts Center in Bethlehem, PA 2011
Television
• Brittany Garzillo “Spirit of Art” feature on PBS WLVT 39 FOCUS 2014
• Jaime Karpovich “Vision Boards with Stephanie Smith” Save the Kales! 2014 Print Media
• Ann Wlazelek “Visionary Artist In Process” LV Marketplace Magazine 2013
• Samantha Kimball “Taking Root – Growth in the Valley Art Community”
Elucidator Magazine 2012
Website/Blog Publications
• Megan Waren “Intentions, Mantras, and Positive Affirmations – 100 Mandalas” Collage Diva 2014
• Thaneeya McArdle “Mandala Art by Stephanie Smith: Inspiring Mandala Designs in Multimedia” Art is Fun! 2011
Personal Mission Statement: “My world is one of abundance. I believe there will always be more than enough. I create this reality by modeling openness, living in a mindful way, and by inspiring others through my own means of honest self-expression; art, writing and teaching.”
On Facebook: Stephanie Smith’s Mandala Art
On YouTube: Biffybeans
On Flickr: Biffybeans Photostream
Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @biffybeans
Stephanie Smith
25 W. 3rd St. #250
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Studio hours by chance or appointment
PH: 484-893-0336