Stephanie Kossmann
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Stephanie Kossmann STATEMENT I am in love with monotype printmaking. We understand each other as mature couples do. Our mutual discovery is appreciative, intense, and flowing. I judiciously combine etching ink (sticky like hot marshmallow) and oil paint (greasy like buttery fingers) using brayers, pallet knives, rags, squeegees, and found objects. The materials allow me create subtle, powerful, atmospheric images and to express complex emotional themes. My abstract portraits hold safe space for generous and compassionate reflection. They facilitate healing after experiencing sexual violence and other physical and psychological trauma. Trauma can change the brain’s structure and disrupt stress-hormone balances, preventing the integration and processing of memory. For those that suffer from PTSD, traumatic memories are held in the nonverbal region of the brain where they remain unprocessed and unresolved. Without intervention, patience, and hard work, many sufferers continue to relive their trauma in both overt and subtle ways. There is an expectation placed on artists to articulate what they believe they can best achieve visually. I strive to keep my descriptions lean; to gently guide viewers with a title or a theme. My imagery is derived from my own experiences in anguish and healing, a background in physical landscape geography, and self-hypnosis. It emerges from an appreciation that arts and sciences are related through observation, analysis, and creative problem solving. BIO Stephanie Kossmann specializes in monotype printmaking and uses etching inks and oil paint to express complex emotional themes. She’s focused on creating abstract atmospheric portraits and landscapes that facilitate healing after experiencing sexual violence and other physical and psychological trauma. Her artwork holds space for reflection, free from judgments and without historical images or context. Stephanie worked quietly for years; developing a mature, appreciative, and intense artistic practice. She received a business grant from Vermont Arts Council and began exhibiting in 2017. Highlights from her 2017 exhibit schedule include “A World Free of Violence” at the Art’s Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing in Burlington; “Defining Ourselves Through Nature” at the Fourth Corner Foundation in Windham; “The Color of Light” at Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury; “Land & Light & Water & Air”, “Fantastical Landscapes”, and “Gems” at the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville; and at the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. She is a member of Vermont Hand Crafters and the Monotype Guild of New England. Stephanie grew up on the South Coast of Massachusetts and lives in rural northwestern Vermont. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Boston University in landscape geography and studio art. She is completing a graduate certificate program in Positive Organizational Development at Champlain College. ARTIST CONTACT [click to email] IMAGES
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