prof ile
Stephanie Ruggles Winter Oklahoma City Red Skirt Acrylic on Canvas 12”x12”
Stephanie by Numbers
Stephanie Ruggles Winter: 5 Years Supporting artists at ovac by Julia Kirt We are happy to honor Stephanie Ruggles Winter for five great years of service to the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Her upbeat attitude and consistent verve continue to grace the organization. Stephanie’s 5 years by numbers: 2,770 membership thank you letters 87% member increase since she took over renewals 5 Momentum OKC events as staff liaison 5,400 people have attended those Momentum events 2 major life events-one marriage, one new child 4,150 slides scanned for Virtual Gallery As you can see, she has been a driving force to keep OVAC in touch with its members. She’s also been able to generate ideas, involve amazing volunteers, and help guide OVAC through huge growth with her service and programs. I feel lucky to call her a co-worker and friend. Please send her a congratulations or thank you if you’ve experienced her great work at assistant@ ovac-ok.org! “Steph is amazing, creative and energetic. She always has an idea, and she has been great with helping to get everyone informed and involved. She has helped
support my work.” Kolbe Roper, Co-Chair of Momentum 2006 “Stephanie has been a great cheering section for OVAC’s programs and growth!” John Seward, Board Member “Stephanie keeps the energy fun and lively” Trent Lawson, Co-Chair Momentum 2004-2006 “Stephanie is a fantastic person to work with. She is very generous and considerate, not to mention a wonderful hostess and delectable cook. When we worked together on Momentum, she was always on call, available, and prepared. There were often long hours of meeting, organizing, hanging and hammering and Stephanie was always there to assist. This is stupendous because she is also a mother. I greatly admire her ability to balance her work with her family. She never seemed stressed or overworked, just simply a pleasure to be around.” Robin Chase, Co-Chair Momentum 2005
her brush strokes bring a canvas to life. However, her work is often conflicted with an eerie void; an elongated man or a lonely chair is thrust into a dynamic world of motion. Portraits are also part of her diverse portfolio. Soft, gentle lines create nostalgic, longing emotions in portraits of young children to young adults. Stephanie’s collages are more inyour-face and deal with contemporary issues such as feminism and politics. Stephanie does not paint by anyone’s numbers, but her numbers at OVAC are impressive. Within the year I have known her she has been kind, concerned, baked great lasagna cheesecake and banana bread and made me smile.
_________________________________ by Lori Oden In addition to her work at the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Stephanie is an accomplished artist. Her media includes painting and collage. With energy and movement that is reminiscent of Van Gogh