biography of Stephanie Schulte

Stephanie Schulte

Biography | Artwork

Bio

Stephanie Schulte, a 22 year old Australian art student, is in the midst of completing her Doctorate of Visual Arts, recently graduating with first class honours from a Bachelor of Visual Media, specializing in Fine Art History at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.

Achieving high results in all areas of her studies, Stephanie is not only a member of the prestigious Golden Key’s Honours society offered to students who have excelled in their field but has also achieved an academic award in 2008 and 2009 for being in the top 5% of all Griffith graduated students.

Statement

It is exciting for me to appropriate a craft as traditional as needlework to convey modern issues and concepts, to recreate or re-represent the human form. All of my works have a deep seated connection to the body. Embroidery and sewing is an extremely personal thing to do. A lot of myself has gone into each work. The appeal of sewing for me as an artist not only lies in the fact that exploration of oneself can be achieved but also revolves around the fragmentation, ingenuity, textural richness and refinement of the stitch and thread creating beauty through intricate lines.

My work is very much hands-on and process orientated and sewing fits nicely into my need for ‘obsessive’ art making. ‘Obsessive’ is a fitting word to describe my artworks as I employ labour-intensive, time consuming and meticulous art making methods in all my creations, each piece taking weeks to produce. My own art incorporates such elements that illustrate not only the artist as an individual but art as an individual’s expression.

By using the sewing machine like a drawing instrument, I am able to make choices of where I want the stitches to lie, often eliminating stitches from areas or only allowing the machine to stitch the outline of a specific colour or shape. The digital aesthetic, that quite literally resembles a pixilated image, juxtaposed against the hand-made associations of embroidery and the body imagery I employ, speaks to the joining together of human and machine.

These works are intended to bring to light the various parallels between new domesticity, the resurgence of craft and re-codification of feminine iconography. Through the use of images, materials and practices associated with women’s art and traditional models of femininity, these pieces aim to engage the notions that surround our preconceived ideas of the feminine ideal.

Exhibitions, Shows and Achievements

Past and Upcoming 2010:

2010 - Erotica Exhibition, PU Gallery, Brisbane.

2010 - Doctorate of Visual Art.

2010 - Collaboration Exhibition - “Taste of Summer” 30^th January, 19 Karen.

2010 - Commencement of the “Travelling Needle”.

Recent Past 2009:

2009 - Achieved First Class Honours at Queensland College of Arts, Griffith University.

2009 - Honours Exhibition, held at “The White Box Gallery”, Gold Coast QCA.

2009 - Guest artist representation by 19 Karen Art Gallery.

2009 - Art works featured in the Textile art and Fibre Exhibition, held at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

2009 - Academic award for being in the top 5% of all Griffith students.

2008:

2008 - Graduated from a Bachelor of Visual Media, Majoring in Fine Arts. Specializing in art history and drawing.

2008 - Achieved the Fine Art academic award of 2008’s graduating year.

2008 - Academic award for being in the top 5% of all Griffith students.

2008 - Exhibition ‘Studio Town’, held at Gold Coast City Arts Gallery.

2008 - Exhibition of graduates, held at “The White Box Gallery”, QCA Gold Coast.

2008 - Inducted into Golden Key Honours Society.

2007:

2007 - Exhibition of ‘Works in Progress’, held at “The White Box Gallery, QCA Gold Coasts.

2007 - Representation by Vallard House Art Gallery.

2006:

2006 - Commencement of a bachelor of Visual Media in Fine Arts.

2006 - Representation by Fine Art and Framing.

2005:

2005 - Chosen to exhibit art work, ‘Nude Study’ at the Elite Gold Coast Student Art showing held at Bond University.

2005 - Graduated College, with overall academic in art.

2005 - Achieved OP 6 and a VHA 5 in art