Not many people can say they live in an actual art gallery — unless they’re related to Victor graduate Gianna Stewart. Last weekend the family transformed their Walling Street home into a full-fledged gallery featuring a collection of her work, and invited neighbors, friends and family to take a tour.
“It feels awesome that it’s all up,” said Stewart. “It’s definitely an adventure getting it all there. I absolutely love the art-making process. (But) hanging it is totally different than making the art itself. It’s something that’s fairly new to me.”
The 22-year-old, who graduated from Victor High School in 2008, recently earned a fine arts degree from Seton Hill University and plans to attend Tufts University, School of the Museum of Fine Arts in the fall. She hopes to secure a teaching position after graduation.
“Within 10 years I would love, love to be a professor in fine arts,” said Stewart, “but definitely need to have more showing experience under my belt. That’s as an ultimate goal — you never know where life is going to go.”
This summer she is hard at work on some new projects.
“I’ve been working a lot with encaustic painting,” said Stewart. “It’s a way of painting with bee’s wax in layers and layers, and you can add pigment to the beeswax. (In) the most recent series I’ve been working on, the starting shape is the circle. I just love how the wax drips over the edges of the masonite. (The pieces) kind of have outer space or deep sea or cellular references.”
Another collection of sculptural oil paintings she created is based on the idea of paintings not just being objects but also being self-aware. “If a painting were able to look at itself, what would it see?” explained Stewart.
To keep the creative juices flowing, this artist has a studio set up right at home.
“I have kind of taken over the basement actually,” said Stewart. “It’s kind of a hodge-podge, but I like it. All I need is space and light and I’m good to go.”
Her family has been inspirational over the years, she said, especially in terms of having a solid work ethic.
“I have been so lucky to always have a family that has said ‘do what you have a passion for.’”
And she believes that’s good advice for anyone.
“Do what your passion is about, and see where that takes you,” said Stewart. “You can’t go wrong if you’re passionate about what you do.”
To view more her work, visit giannatheartist.com.
Not many people can say they live in an actual art gallery — unless they’re related to Victor graduate Gianna Stewart. Last weekend the family transformed their Walling Street home into a full-fledged gallery featuring a collection of her work, and invited neighbors, friends and family to take a tour.
“It feels awesome that it’s all up,” said Stewart. “It’s definitely an adventure getting it all there. I absolutely love the art-making process. (But) hanging it is totally different than making the art itself. It’s something that’s fairly new to me.”
The 22-year-old, who graduated from Victor High School in 2008, recently earned a fine arts degree from Seton Hill University and plans to attend Tufts University, School of the Museum of Fine Arts in the fall. She hopes to secure a teaching position after graduation.
“Within 10 years I would love, love to be a professor in fine arts,” said Stewart, “but definitely need to have more showing experience under my belt. That’s as an ultimate goal — you never know where life is going to go.”
This summer she is hard at work on some new projects.
“I’ve been working a lot with encaustic painting,” said Stewart. “It’s a way of painting with bee’s wax in layers and layers, and you can add pigment to the beeswax. (In) the most recent series I’ve been working on, the starting shape is the circle. I just love how the wax drips over the edges of the masonite. (The pieces) kind of have outer space or deep sea or cellular references.”
Another collection of sculptural oil paintings she created is based on the idea of paintings not just being objects but also being self-aware. “If a painting were able to look at itself, what would it see?” explained Stewart.
To keep the creative juices flowing, this artist has a studio set up right at home.
“I have kind of taken over the basement actually,” said Stewart. “It’s kind of a hodge-podge, but I like it. All I need is space and light and I’m good to go.”
Her family has been inspirational over the years, she said, especially in terms of having a solid work ethic.
“I have been so lucky to always have a family that has said ‘do what you have a passion for.’”
And she believes that’s good advice for anyone.
“Do what your passion is about, and see where that takes you,” said Stewart. “You can’t go wrong if you’re passionate about what you do.”
To view more her work, visit giannatheartist.com.
