the green cat studio history
Read more of Steph's musings, 1, 2, 3
Hillary Clinton once
said that it takes a village to raise a child. I would like
to add that it also takes a village to make an artist famous.
It's not just one gallery that makes Salida the great art town
that it is, but the accumulation of all of us. A lot of us are
specialized in our fields and that is what makes Salida so wonderful.
There are a lot of other people working with the artists behind
the scenes that make this all possible. Welcome to Salida's
dream, welcome to "the green cat's dream," and welcome
to my dream.
My name
is Steph Brady. My husband's name is Joe Brady. We have three
children, a new son-in-law, a grandbaby, a dog named Mudd, and
a cat named Stimpy. I graduated with a BSE (Bachelor of Science
and Education) degree in Psychology, Education and Special Ed.
I almost had enough credits to teach children who have learning
disabilities, but I decided after six years it was time to wind
it all up. I started my art career in 1976 because my husband
thought I needed something else to do other than teach high school
and run swim programs in the summer.
That
something else turned out to be stained glass. It did give me
something to do and let me be a stay-at-home mom with my children
In 1979
I started by first glass studio on Gunsmoke Street in Dodge City,
Kansas. I went under the name Winda Stains. I also became the
"art lady" in Dodge City at my kid's school because
they didn't have a formal art program. I have been studying sandcarving
and hot glass since the early 80's. I also added acrylics to my
palette in 1989, pastels in 1993 and painting on glass in 2000.
We finally
got to move to Colorado in 1992. I first started out just doing
my paintings because I did not think Salida was quite ready for
my glass even though my forte was glass. Also, people have more
wall space than windows, so it was easier to sell paintings. I
wandered from a couple of studios until I started my own studio
on First Street in 1996. That's when I gave way to "the green
cat." I just recently moved to the spot I'm in now and hope
this will be my permanent home.
With
this new move, I consolidated all of my 3 studios and finally
got my materials and tools all under one roof and one state. I
do so many media that it was hard to find room to do all of them.
This building seemed to fit right into my wants and needs. See more of the gallery on our walk through.
All in
all, I have had nine different studios. It usually takes me at
least a year to feel comfortable and start rolling with my art.
I think this studio might be different. I have already begun to
roll and feel the freedom of the space. The natural light is just
what I needed to show my glass and my husband's sculptures. I
feel honored to be the caretaker of this building. After you visit my gallery, right across the street is Gallery 150, and wonderful gold jewelry by Jerry Scavezze.
Let there
be light and let it shine thru you...
