"I am driven by my need to create. It is what gets me up in the morning. I find inspiration in the eerie and whimsical. I have often felt misunderstood in my own life, and it is in those misunderstood subjects I find my muse. In my work I play around with high contrast creating light with negative space and deep shadows with heat and fire. My completed pieces are often the stuff of dreams or nightmares depending on the observer's perspective. While my art may be "playful" it does come from a place within me that I have been learning to nurture and grow. A part of me I felt compelled to suppress in my younger years. By creating such pieces, I am growing to embrace and love my whole self and it does feel like a part of me is coming back to life. That is what you are really seeing when you look at my work. It is my hope that by sharing my art that others will find a kindred misunderstood spirit and feel seen or that they will just enjoy the whimsy for what it is."

Stephanie is a pyrographer. She has been wood burning for about 10 years. She is well practiced with all kinds of mediums, but it wasn't until about 4 years ago she decided to put those other mediums aside and really put her focus and growth into wood burning. It started off small with Christmas ornaments for friends and family. Then inspiration called and she started to challenge herself with bigger ideas and projects. Most recently she has been testing her abilities in realism through portraits.