Stephanie Arner

Born in Lexington Park, Maryland (1974)

Resides in Savannah, Georgia

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Dreamer. Innovator. Pun Lover. These are a few ways to describe Stephanie’s personality. She’s a proud GenX-er, mother of 2 adult sons and grandma to the sweetest baby boy... she's currently carving out her next chapter in life. She has accomplished many feats and many triumphs.  She graduated from the University of South Florida with a BFA in Ceramics at age forty. She went on to teach Art K-5 for 2 years and middle school for 3 years. One of her proudest career moments was being named Teacher of the Year in 2020.  After 5 years as a public-school Art Teacher in Florida, she decided to pursue her dream of obtaining an MFA, with aspirations of becoming a professor. She downsized her belongings, packed up her cats, all her jewelry tools & supplies and headed to Savannah, Georgia to attend the Savannah College of Art & Design. She graduated with her MFA in Jewelry at SCAD in November 2023.

 

Exploring materials has been a lifelong journey since her childhood.  As a child, she used materials on hand as a means of escape from the external world.  Years later, she concluded that creating had been an ongoing form of self-care and deemed to be one of the healthiest coping mechanisms to have when trifling through uncertain times. Essentially, the act of creating saved her. After weathering life’s many storms, she has emerged into her true self.  She is an artist in every sense of the word and enjoys making wearable art from found objects as well as jewelry that holds emotional value.

 

 After nearly 40 years of repurposing materials, she has embraced her given talents and loves to inspire those around her.  Creative time allows the brain to solve problems through self-reflection; and with self-reflection bestows progressive change. Transforming materials once was a form of escape has now become a form of expression… specifically, jewelry. Jewelry is tangible, wearable and personal. The emotional value of jewelry incessantly tugs at our hearts, creating a connection from object to person. Life experience has taught her valuable lessons… we can’t erase our past, but we have the ability to reclaim our lives and rebuild our future.