Day 295: Stefania Luciani Binnick
“In my presence and then when the art is in the presence of others, that’s the wish. The wish is for people to think creatively, think from different perspectives, maybe not to look just inside the box but look around it, up and down behind it …”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Stefania, for agreeing to be part of this Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Stefania Luciani Binnick: Yes, my name is Stefania Luciani Binnick.
Toni: Well thank you for being here.
Stefania: You’re welcome.
Toni: So Stefania, who do you inspire?
Stefania: I believe that I inspire people who I come in contact with every day in what I do and the different hats that I wear.
Toni: What do you do?
Stefania: I am a visual artist, and I practice pretty much in the Pennsylvania area.
Toni: Okay. A visual art; so what type of art do you produce?
Stefania: I produce landscapes, still life, portraits in painting, print art, photography, and then multimedia work.
Toni: And so you believe that your art inspires others?
Stefania: Yes, I do.
Toni: And how does it happen? Tell me.
Stefania: It happens by being in contact with the individuals who either commission me to do my artwork or who come in contact with my work.
Toni: Okay; and what happens when people that commission you … what feedback have you gotten where they’re like “Wow, this is pretty cool!”
Stefania: Okay. I love to find out what it is that they’re looking to have in their space. You know, it could be in their home, in their business, in an office setting, and so what I like to do is I like to find out what it is that they would like to have as inspiration or to honor a place or a person. And then after we discuss that, I have a better idea of that. Then I look to see if there are certain images in my portfolio that they’re attracted to, and then that’s pretty much what leads to the next step to find out if they want to have a nature scene that will be very relaxing to look at in a waiting room for a dentist’s office, for example.
When I did the project for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for their pediatric oncology unit, the aim there was to make a piece that would be installed in the family unit. I wanted it to be a piece that would help give healing energies to the space and to the people that could come in touch with it, in contact with it, so that when you walk into the unit, you would see the piece from far away, and then when you get up close you can actually touch it, and that theme had to do with the story of a thousand cranes.
Toni: A story of a thousand cranes.
Stefania: Yes.
Toni: What does that mean?
Stefania: It’s a Japanese story that had to do with a girl who was sick from the Hiroshima explosion of the bomb, and she had gotten, I believe it was leukemia, and there’s a tradition of putting … of making cranes that would help heal and have the sickness be relieved. So all the children in the villages started making cranes, and they ended up making a thousand cranes, and then they were put at shrines in special places. And then origami knots are made in which people would write their praise or their thoughts or their wishes, and then it’s folded up and put on a stick in front of the shrine to have good things come from that.
Toni: Fantastic. Thank you for sharing that story, too. What I’m hearing from you is that the way that you inspire others really is through your art, but it’s the storytelling. It’s them telling you a story of what they’re looking for and what they need, and you creating that story on a canvas, whether that’s something that you hang on the wall or something you create on the wall, correct?
Stefani: Oh, that’s very true. I have another real nice one, too. Recently someone who I came in contact in the Blue Bell area wanted to make a present to her husband for their anniversary, and the husband is a very avid bicycle rider, cyclist. So I spoke with her and went to visit the home and saw the room where his bicycle equipment is, and he had three bicycles on a pedestal there, and one thing led to another and I ended up choosing a particular bike, then I made an oil painting of the bike.
When I went to install this piece and the husband saw it as well and the children, they were amazed because of the wonderful energy that the bicycle emits into the space. It’s very dynamic and energizing with the colors and the composition coming from … it’s a perspective that almost comes out of the canvas into the viewer’s space. So I later find out that this bicycle that I chose to paint is a special bicycle as well, because it has been in different cycling events throughout the country starting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it’s part of a group.
Toni: So this was a very special thing for him and for his wife, and it must have been amazing for the family to see that brought to life. The Get Inspired! Project is all about inspiration and potential, and when people witness your potential on the painting, do you think that that helps them to explore their own potential?
Stefani: Oh, that is for sure. The whole purpose for the work that I do is to make people creative makers. I always have that in mind. It’s my mantra, and back in 2006 I even created a registered trademark called Creative Maker® and created a symbol for it.
In my presence and then when the art is in the presence of others, that’s the wish. The wish is for people to think creatively, think from different perspectives, maybe not to look just inside the box but look around it, up and down behind it, and I believe that allows people to see what they can do in their own lives that would be a creative way to interact with someone, or to have a backyard where they could plant a garden and set it up to grow their own vegetables.
Toni: So there’s a lot of transferring of, as you say, creative making going on as far as inspiring people to even think a little bit differently. Unfortunately, the Get Inspired! Project … there’s so much information and so little time, and we just really … what inspires you?
Stefani: My motivation is for goodness to come out of what I do, and so when I see that open door of opportunity to let that happen, then that’s inspiration for me.
Toni: Oh, fantastic. What a lovely way to put that. Stefania, what do you do to continue to explore your own potential so you can create these beautiful pieces of art?
Stefani: Well, as a professional artist who has been working for over 27 years in visual art making, I found that with the availability of tools such as computer graphics and film and video, digital film and video, music, audio, I said to myself I have to explore becoming proficient in the use of some of these tools, not just as a professional artist, but I think of myself as a teacher.
And even though I’m also certified in teaching foreign languages and fine art, I needed to take some professional development courses in order to have my teaching certificate stay active, and so I ended up doing some course work in computer graphics and also in Raku sculpture. This gives me more tools to explore and combine and to spread into the artwork into the world.
Toni: Fantastic. It sounds as though you really are continuing your own education so that you can stay creative and continue to help others to be creative when they see your work and inspire that creativity within them.
Stefania, I cannot thank you enough for being part of the Get Inspired! Project, and we will have your website at the end of the transcript so people can check out your artwork if they would like a little bit more information. So for the time that you’ve given us today, thank you so very much.
Stefania: Oh, it was my pleasure. I’m so happy to.
Toni: Oh, great. Take care, Stefania.
Stefania: Thank you, you too.
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For more information about Stefania Luciani Binnick: www.lucianiart.com
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