When we last put the spotlight on 100 creative forces in Phoenix, it was no secret there were more than 100 individuals who were making waves in the local arts community. So in celebration of our Best of Phoenix issue, we're profiling 100 more. Welcome (back) to 100 Creatives.
Emily Stergar says she's originally from the cornfields of rural Indiana. After graduating from Herron School of Art and Design in 2004, she picked up and moved to the Big Apple. She says missed open space, so she didn't last very long. She then decided to move to Virginia and live by the ocean, which she says was great, but it was the wrong kind of space. When she moved to Arizona for graduate school, she says she immediately thought: "Now this is the right kind of space!"
Stergar currently teaches sculpture at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Phoenix College, inspiring my students to make sculpture. She recently received the International Sculpture Center's Outstanding Student Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture for 2012.
I came to Phoenix with ... all the power tools I could fit in my truck.
I make art because ... Sometimes I ask myself "What else I would do? What else should I be?" I've never been able to answer. So I just make. That's what I do.
I'm most productive when ... I'm left to my own devices and too tired to think.
My inspiration wall is full of ... quotes, images, sketches, rulers and triangles, maps, string, neon lights, pegboards full of files, hammers, screw drivers, pliers, levels, saw blades, etc....important news articles, tracings of drain covers and concrete cracks, thoughts on work in progress...thoughts on old work, new work, bad work, notes on air and water quality...on land and water rights...more notes on government policies...my work apron, welding jacket, and safety goggles.
I've learned the most from ... experimenting and making a thousand mistakes until it finally clicks.
Good work should always ... be thought provoking, ask questions, challenge what you believe and hold to be true, have an emotional pull, and leave you wanting more.
The Phoenix creative scene could use more ... making.
The Creatives, so far ... (And while you're here, check out 100 Tastemakers on Chow Bella.)
100:Lara Plecas 99. Isaac Caruso 98. Brandon Gore 97. Kelsey Dake 96. Hector Ruiz 95. Caroline Battle 94: Jennifer Campbell 93. Jeff Chabot 92. Tiffiney Yazzie 91. Daniel Germani 90. Irma Sanchez 89. Daniel m. Davis 88. Kirstin Van Cleef 87. Emmett Potter 86. Sarah Hurwitz 85. Christine Cassano 84. Fred Tieken 83. Lindsay Kinkade 82. Ruben Galicia 81. Robert Uribe 80. Heidi Abrahamson 79. Josephine Davis 78. Travis Ladue 77. Taz Loomans 76. Mikey Jackson 75. Alex Empty 74. Joe Ray 73. Carol Roque 72. Daniel Funkhouser 71. Carla Chavarria 70. Hugo Medina 69. Cavin Costello 68. Claire Carter 67. Lindsay Tingstrom 66. Catherine Ruane 65. Christopher Crosby 64. Aaron Johnson 63. Brenda Eden 62. Colton Brock 61. Ernesto Moncada 60. Benjamin Phillips 59. Brad Armstrong 58. Angela Hardison 57. Tyler Quinn 56. Andrew James Benson 55. Charles Anthony Darr 54: Tiffe Fermaint 53. Eric Cox 52. Victor Vasquez 51. John Randall Nelson 50. Lauren Lee 49. Kyle Jordre 48. Julie C. Kent 47. Sean Deckert 46. Niba DelCastillo 45. Joseph Benesh 44. Ashley Harder 43. Dan Vermillion 42. Daniel Shepherd 41. James B. Hunt 40. Lori Fenn 39. Seth Gideon Fainkujen 38. Wayne Rainey 37. Christian Filardo 36. Melissa Cody 35. Jason Rudolph Peña 34. Cindy Iverson 33. Ryan Gentry 32. Sebastien Millon 31. Andrea Beesley 30. Chris Pruitt 29. Robert Diehl 28. Rachel Malloy 27. Jonathan Simon 26. Ann Morton 25. Kim Moody 24. Kevin Flanagan 23. Such and Champ Styles 22. Julia Fournier 21. Rebecca Green 20. Jules Demetrius 19. Averian Chee 18. Sara Cochran 17. Daniel Mills 16. Nina Miller 15. Robert Brandan Martinez 14. Rachel Bowditch 13. Ashley Macias 12. Eddie Sparr 11. Bob Roman 10. Melinda Bergman
