Stephanie L. Wills is an interdisciplinary artist, originally from Southington, Connecticut, currently living in Portland, Maine. She received her BA in Studio Art from Salve Regina University in May 2025 and will receive her MFA degree from Maine College of Art and Design in 2027 to pursue a career as an art professor. Her work has been showcased in multiple exhibitions such as a solo artist salon hosted by the Newport Artist Collective in Newport, Rhode Island. Additionally, her work has been shown throughout her career in Portland, Maine’s vast artist community.


Artist Statement:

“Since the birth of man we have been finding different ways to measure the human person from social class to attraction. In antiquity it was the mathematical equation that ranked the symmetry of the body, specifically the man's body, as perfection given from the universe. Later, we see Greek and Roman sculpture of athletic idealized men as embodied perfection for their culture. In the middle ages attacks on women arise starting with the witch trials in and ending with deporting women for not following domestic social order in, starting what we have come to term the “patriarchy.” Oddly, at this point in time the more weighted and bulged feminine body was the epitome of beauty. A fuller, bulbous stomach meant a woman was fertile and well-nourished for baby making. However, only high class ladies with the resources to acquire mass nourishment could reach this ideal. The patriarchy has always positioned men as holding more value than women and sexualized women as a way to undermine their power. However, today is not much different in the way we use social media to construct false appearances to fit a new ideal that has been promoted throughout social media that is more readily available to the average person than ever before. This is the symmetrical features, tiny waist, but large breasts. It is more attractive for a woman to starve herself than it is to practice self-acceptance. The Western treatment of the body throughout time has taught us how to value ourselves. 

My work, through the iconography of the feminine body, tries to switch this narrative to bring more exposure to all bodies, shapes and sizes, as holding beauty. I hope to create undeniable installations with my painting and sculptural work to confront a viewer with their own biases and patriarchal thinking. I do this in order to create a society that is more accepting of women and all minorities that feel inadequate with themselves.”

Education:

MFA Candidate, Maine College of Art and Design

Expected graduation 05/27

BA in Studio Art, Salve Regina University 

Concentrations in Painting and Ceramics

Minor in Art History

GPA 3.865

Graduation date: 05/25

Projects:

Associate Curator, Gilded Age Dress in New England Exhibition, Dorrance Hamilton Gallery, Newport, RI, 10/24

  • Helped research, curate, and promote garments in gallery space

Rhode Island Academy Players, Theater Set Paintings, Providence, RI, 10/24

  • Painted four play themed paintings for theater set 

Artist Partner, Hammett's Hotel, Newport, RI, 03/23

  • Researched and generated sketches for final work of art

  • Communicated and worked with hotel owner

Exhibitions:

Deviant, Lawrence Hamilton Gallery, Newport, RI, 10/26

Familiar Artifacts, 82 Paris Gallery, Portland, ME, 8/26

Playground, Maine College of Art and  Design, Portland, ME,  6/26-8/26

Wish You Were Here, SPACE Gallery,Portland, ME, 6/26

Collect, Maine College of Art and  Design, Portland, ME,6/26

Body of The Artist, Bob Crewe Gallery, ME, 1/26-3/26

Armor, Creative Haverhill Gallery, Haverhill, MA, 10/25-11/25

Anything But Mocha Mousse, Bob Crewe Gallery, Portland, ME, 07/25-08/25

Senior Honors Thesis, Dorrance Hamilton Gallery, Newport RI, 04/25

Solo Salon, Newport Artist Collective, Newport, RI, 07/24

Turning Pages Exhibition, Salve Regina University McKillop Library, Newport, RI, 04/24

Best of Salve Students , Lawrence Hamilton Gallery, Newport, RI, 08/22 - 08/23 - 08/24

  • Honorable Mention Award, Best of Salve Students Exhibition, 08/24

  • Painting Award, Best of Salve Students Exhibition, 08/22

Internships:

Education Intern, The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT, 05/24 - 08/24

  • Worked with a group of elementary school camp children

  • Helped art teacher make weekly lesson plans

  • Gave project instructions to the children

Work Experience:

Teaching Assistant, Maine College of Art and Design, Portland, ME, 08/25 - current

  • 3d Materiality: Sculpture 10/10-12/10

  • Painting: Light and Space 1/12-4/27 

  • Art History: Feminist Art Practices in the 20th and 21st Century

  • Help professor with classroom prep and lesson plans

Visiting Artist Associate, Maine College of Art and Design, Portland, ME, 06/25

  • Support visiting artists in their travel/housing

  • Prepare housing each week

  • Budget and purchase supplies for artists

Studio Associate, Pottery Piazza, Plainville, CT, 05/24 - current 

  • Load/unload electric kilns with customer work

  • Instruct customers on pottery and glazing techniques

Special Events Coordinator, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, 01/24 - 05/25

  • Created logo for event merchandise, 05/24

  • Draft contracts and communicate with outside vendors/clients 

  • Work with given budgets for event planning 

  • Run events for all undergraduate students on campus 

Orientation Lead Logistics Coordinator, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, 06/23 - 06/24

  • Drafted contracts and communicate with outside clients and campus partners

  • Created and ran trainings for the orientation leaders 

  • Used excel to organize and input all incoming first-years information 

Orientation Leader, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, 06/22

  • Oversaw a group of first-year students and bring them around campus

Skills:

Software Skills:

  • Intermediate in Excel software

  • Intermediate in Adobe Photoshop software

  • Intermediate in Procreate software

  • Intermediate in Firing Electric Kilns

  • Intermediate in facilitating woodshop tools

Soft Skills:

  • Working in group settings

  • Leadership 

  • Time management/organization

Publications:

Willow Magazine, Paintings Showcased, Newport, RI, 05/22 - 05/25

Salve Today, Project for Hammett's Hotel Featured, Newport, RI, 04/24