Artist's Statment - Sara Stevens

For as long as I can remember I have loved all types of art, performance, theatre, painting, drawing, sculpture etc.  Although, I enjoy photography most of all, because it can be manipulated as well as be realistic.

I have an associates degree in general studies from Tyler Junior College, with many years of experience in photography.  I was a graphic design major before coming to the University of North Texas.  I loved to take current images and turning them into something completely different.  This can be done to a photograph, with the computer, in the darkroom, as the picture is being taken, or on the actual photograph combined with other media.

Some of my past works include all of these techniques, each reflecting a different emotion that I wanted to portray.  I would take one photograph and try all of these different techniques and then decide which one captured the emotion or idea I was trying to express.  One piece for example was a close-up image of an old rusty tricycle that I drew on top of with oil pastels.  The picture alone was awful and created no emotion but by adding that small amount of color, it conjured up a memory of childhood experiences.  Another piece that I had won an award for was a contemporary portrait that was shot in the studio.  I was able to manipulate the lighting when I took the picture.  In the darkroom, I was able to soften the image which gave it a very sexy feeling.  When you looked at it many emotions and feelings were raised, a few of which may be considered controversial.

Throughout my experience at UNT I really began to enjoy sculpture.  Any type of 3-D sparked my interest, whether it was with clay, metal, paper, plaster, or anything that can be held in your hand.  As a college student plaster became my medium of choice, it was cheap and easy to manipulate.

Some of my pieces today focus on cultural studies, because of my background as a Middle Eastern dancer.  By having that culture around me as I grew up it makes me more aware of the world around us.  Every culture is different and even if something bad is going on in the world we have realized that it is not coming from the entire country just from a few bad individuals.