M.J.
Professor Lanser
English 1006
3 November 2017
Susan Stephenson: A Guide Through the Mysteries of Art
    Art is a complicated subject. It’s a field that revolves around ideas, taking thoughts and putting them into a physical form, but with no one way to do it. One can draw a beautiful picture, paint the colors around them, make a movie, sculpt a statue, and the list goes on from there. Now look at me, a college freshman who has little art experience outside of the previous year, but comes with a goal to learn more of the arts. I came to Stanislaus State wanting to learn the different ways to look at the world and the different ways to express feelings and thoughts. I want to take this knowledge eventually into filmmaking, but where do I start? What classes should I take? What would provide the most experience that I could eventually take to filmmaking? There are a lot of paths, and it is hard to know which way is the correct one for me. Luckily, there’s someone on campus who can help. That person is at the center of the Art Department itself, my advisor, Susan Stephenson.
Any story of her must begin with the Art department itself, which is hard to find for those not looking for it. Hidden back behind Snider Hall is the tan, brick wall that surrounds the Art Department, covered by large trees which are as green as the freshly watered grass. The walls are dirty and can only be passed by entering through one of the two gates that face toward the campus library. Due to the drab walls surrounding this area, most who don’t actively go there tend to ignore it, carrying on with their next class in mind, but on the inside is the home of all artists on Stanislaus State.
    The Department of Art is often bustling with life if one visits during the middle of the week. Coming midday on most days, one can see students traveling from one area to the next, notebooks out and ready to draw. Occasionally, painters can be seen, sometimes on the outside of the department too, studying the life and colors around them. Professors talking and assisting students on projects. The central courtyard tends to get the most action, as it’s the entrance to the department and the place that connects to all the different classes. One door will open the printmaking room, another door to the drawing room, one to the computer room, and so on. Sitting and watching for a few minutes will make one realize just how many art classes there are, but getting any information on them takes a trip to the Stanislaus website.
The official page of the Art Department states that one of its goals is to give students “A broad understanding of major techniques, processes, and theoretical approaches to drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and new media.” That’s five different forms of art, five different areas to study, and five different styles to experience. And going for a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (BFA) is a more intense experience, requiring 54 units within the major’s classes, not counting General Education (GE) requirements or any prerequisites. This is the degree I am personally going for, one that is quite different from a normal Bachelors of Arts (BA).  “A BFA requires that approximately two thirds of the course work focus on the creation and study of visual arts, and one third of the course work focus on liberal arts.” says website All Art Schools, analysing the differences between a BA and a BFA. A BFA degree requires a larger focus on the creation of different types of art, meaning a lot more time in the studio for me, and a lot more classes in the Art Department. With all the different classes there are to take in the Art Department, making it a nightmare to figure out on my own. This is where my advisor comes in.
Susan Stephenson is a relatively new teacher at Stanislaus, and she is my art advisor. She tends to sees the art in everything around her, even things most tend to ignore. Her focus is on painting, specifically oil paintings of still-life, targeting things that would often be classified as mundane or uninteresting and bringing out their colors in them. Traffic lights, kettles, bottles, stop signs, she takes them all and brings forward the beauty in them. On her official website, she states“Every day, people are bombarded with chances to see beauty in the mundane yet sleepwalk past them. Rather than wait a hundred years for our culture to look back wistfully at some of the things we currently overlook, I prefer to show their beauty right now - why wait?” (2) She’s able to take what we all overlook, and bring out the art inside it.
Painting has always been a part of Professor Stephenson’s life. “It’s almost like I was never not interested in art,” she told me when I asked her about it. This interest goes far back into her childhood. She grew up in a family of visual artists, meaning her entire life she’s grown up surrounded by the arts. She also came from a family of teachers, thus leading her to follow in their footsteps while looking for work, and then sticking with teaching for 25 years.
Her last job was at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Connecticut, where she taught for 22 years and kept herself busy. She taught many different painting classes, including ones that focused on composition and figures, foundation drawing classes, 2D design, Color and Design. Her experience doesn’t stop at just teaching. “I was a full-time faculty member at Lyme, and I served as the very first Chair of the Foundation Program for a number of years, developing
and overseeing Lyme's Foundation Program. More recently, I served as the Chair of the Painting Department for four years.” Not just having teaching experience, but serving as a department chair, shows how much experience she has with the art department. This isn’t including her time as an advising member for Senior Studio course at Lyme.
All of that history, however, was just leading up to her latest change. A few months ago, she moved to the Central Valley to start her first year at Stanislaus State. Her reasons for transferring to this college are different than one might expect. If you hear about a professor making a major life change and moving across the country, you might think it was for the job of a lifetime, or perhaps to be closer to family. Professor Stephenson’s needs and motives were far more straightforward. She told me she likes the weather here more than up in Connecticut, preferring the warmer seasons to the colder ones of the northeast. It is autumn right now in California, and the leaves on campus are just beginning to turn from green to a mix of yellow, red, and brown. The weather is warm and pleasant, with temperatures in the mid 70’s, while in Connecticut the skies are grey and rainy. The chilly weather back east is more than twenty degrees cooler, so it is easy to see what she likes.
Professor Stephenson also has more experience with a “university system.” Basically, at Stanislaus State, all the buildings, classes, departments, etc, are all much closer together than at Lyme, making it easier to travel around. This setup, very much like a campus university, is much more appealing to Professor Stephenson. On top of this, she worked previously with Daniel Edwards, the sculpture professor, up at Lyme and heard from him how good the Stanislaus campus is. After all these perks pulled her toward Stanislaus State, she came not only bringing over 20 years of experience, but also kind and determined personality.
Professor Stephenson is always willing to help, doing whatever she can to give an answer to a question and helping make sure everything’s right on track. When asked about her approach to advising, she says “I try to look at the curriculum and see what’s best for students.” She explains that scheduling is always one of the hardest parts of college. Students are trying to get through college in as little time as possible, so they try to overload and put themselves at risk of not graduating at all. With it being so easy to quickly overwhelm oneself or miss important classes, there are many pitfalls that Professor Stephenson strives to help her students avoid.
This helpful personality has created a relaxing feeling for me whenever I enter her office. As of now, I have talked to her twice, once for advising and once to interview her for this profile. Her office itself is very small, since a majority of the building she’s in is being taken up by the painting/drawing studio. Getting to the office requires going through part of the studio, which may or may not be housing a class at that time, and going down a narrow side hall where several offices are located. Once you enter her office, you’ll notice most of the room is taken up by her two tables, the first table on the left side is covered with papers and pieces of artwork, while the right table holds her computer. Right next to this table is a bookshelf that holds several books on famous painters and a few other random paintings. There is a third table at the opposite side of the office, running along the back wall underneath a window that reveals a few bushes from the outside. This table is much more organized than the other two, with it holding a large collection of books and a few papers here and there.
Both times I met with her, Professor Stephenson was very kind and helpful to me. Clearing space for me to sit down, going over the estimated advising time to make sure I had all the information I needed, and going out of her way to get answers to questions I had. It’s made me much more confident in what to expect from Stanislaus State.
Even if her office is small and her time on Stanislaus has been short, Professor Stephenson will always be willing to help a student. Her kindness has taken away a lot of worries I had, and because of her I can now see my own plan more clearly. Getting a BFA won’t be easy, but I’m still looking forward to my time in the Art Department. The people are nice and always willing to help, and there’s a lot of interesting classes to take. And I know I won’t have to worry if I’m ever lost or confused about my classes, because I know I can always ask Professor Stephenson, and she will help to me stay on track.