Meet our July Featured Artists: Debra Jurey and Stephanie Wilbanks, two of our talented Associate Artists!
Their work will be featured in our front window for the month of July, and can always be found in our Up Front Store.
Don't miss special art demonstrations Debra & Stephanie on July 27th, from 3-5pm!
Kiln Formed Glass Demo with Stephanie Wilbanks
Bead Weaving Demo with Debra Jurey
Debra Jurey’s off loom bead work combines the best aspects of classic design, quality craftsmanship, and organic naturalism. As an art student at CSU Northridge she majored in ceramics and fiber arts. She loved working with her hands and both fiber and clay allowed her to do that. But eventually it was working with the unlimited colors, materials, and sizes of beads that became her passion.
When developing a piece, Debra will rarely draw up a plan but instead rely on her love of nature and design instincts to lead the process - quality and minute detail are hallmarks of her work.
For over twenty years Debra has shown her work at art festivals, shops, and gallery shows across the central coast. She has participated in the Open Studios Art Tour and the Paso Robles Art Festival, Art in the Garden at the Jack House in SLO, the 13th annual Zinfandel Wine Festival at Windward Winery, and various county art shows including Templeton Art in the Park. A high point of her career was a joint show with two Studio artists called Art in the Age of Extinction, highlighting an impressive bee hive shelving unit stretching across an entire wall space. Each cubicle held a piece of Debra’s wildlife work focusing on the plight of Bees.
Debra is also a member of the Central Coast Weavers Guild and participates in their famous annual holiday sale. Locally her work can be found at Studios On the Park and Amphora Gallery in Cambria. “I enjoy the process of creating something from tiny glass beads that end up on someone’s wrist or neck bringing joy to the wearer. That’s the ultimate reward!”
Stephanie Wilbanks is an Associate Artist at Studios on the Park. Her creative history began with vocal music, which eventually became a lifelong avocation. Early forays into visual arts included lost wax jewelry casting, fiber arts, and calligraphy. Then the creative field of advertising honed her visual and design skills through her career as a marketing director & management consultant.
A fascination with all forms of glass art led her to a class in kiln formed glass. She was instantly smitten with this art form, which combines creativity with the magic of science. The chemistry and physics of molten glass require that each piece is fired in the kiln as many as three times at different temperatures to get the desired layers. This ensures that each art piece is unique.
Stephanie's background both in marketing and music gives a foundation to each art glass concept. Marketing informs the balance while music inspires the harmony of color and line. Art glass celebrates the drama of light and color.
