• at a glance

    The Pro Stuff

    Title: Poet & Social Practice Artist, Founder of No Starving Artist Academy & The Nia Collection

     

    Education: Bachelors in Business Administration & Marketing, MTSU

    MFA in Creative Writing (poetry), Vanderbilt University

    Leadership Nashville, Class of 2018

     

    Service in the Arts Community:

    • Board of Directors,  Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville
    • Board of Commissioners,  Metro Arts
    • Artist Selection Committee, Ryman Lofts (affordable housing for artists)
    • Grant Reviewer,  TN Arts Commission
    • Facilitator & Group Leader,  Periscope Artist Entrepreneur Program

    Experience:

    • Educator - has taught at Vanderbilt University, Sewanee Young Writers' Conference, and over one hundred k-12 and community settings including public and private schools, hospitals and recovery centers, corporations, non profit organizations, leadership groups, and social/civic groups.
    • Entrepreneur & Business Administrator - owned or operated an event planning company, small press publishing house, art gallery, AirBnB, and social science think tank.

    A Dozen Truths & a Lie (which one is the lie????)

    1. I despise ladybugs.
    2. I've been so engrossed in a book that I missed a flight, sitting in the airport, at my terminal.
    3. When I was five-years-old, I had a goat and took her to show and tell.
    4. The first time I wore red lipstick was the day I turned 37-years-old.
    5. I prefer to write in a parked car instead of at a desk.
    6. My last “regular” job was four years ago. I lasted about two weeks.
    7. After every big creative project I complete, I treat myself to a new set of 1000+ thread count sheets.
    8. I can crack open a crab leg and remove all the meat in 7 seconds. (Treat me to a seafood dinner and I’ll show you!)
    9. A writing teacher in college told me that I shouldn’t waste my time trying to write poetry.
    10. Maya Angelou told me that writing poems would bring me a life of awards, joy, and abundance.
    11. If you look in my closet you’ll see that at least 80% of my clothes are all solid colors.
    12. Collecting artwork made me a better parent and saved my life.
    13. I have 78 ways to say “no” without guilt, and 59 ways to say “yes” appropriately.
  • Brief Bio / Speaker's Intro

    Stephanie Pruitt is a poet and social practice artist who has taught at Vanderbilt University, the Sewanee Young Writers' Conference, and as a visiting artist in over one hundred K-­12 and community settings. She is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and Essence Magazine named her one of their “40 Favorite Poets.” Stephanie serves as a Commissioner for Metro Arts and on the board of directors for the Arts & Business Council. She prefers flip flops over stilettos, pancakes over waffles, and the toilet paper is always over, not under. When at her Nashville home, the mother of Nia and wife of Al can often be found with an 70lb dog in her lap. The TEDx speaker is the founder of NoStarvingArtist(dot)me and is committed to helping creators make a LIFE and LIVING with their art.

  • My Story

    There was a little girl whose mother took her to the library every week. It was her one place without any limits – any book, any subject, as many as she could carry.

    ~

    The weekly journeys always brought the girl home with a towering stack of excitement.

    ~

    Whether her parents read to her, or she devoured the pages by herself with a flashlight under the covers, the result was always the same; the little girl was moved to write and draw.

    ~

    Much to her parents’ dismay, she didn’t always use paper.The young reader wanted to see her ideas on the sofa cushions and walls all over the house.

    ~

    They scolded her, gave warnings, put her in time out. It didn’t matter. She loved words and doodles, and wanted to be surrounded by them.

    ~

    One afternoon the girl’s mother unexpectedly told her to go to her room.

    ~

    She couldn’t remember what she might have done to be in trouble this time, and walked down the hall, planning her defense argument.

    ~

    To her delight however, she opened the door to find the bottom half of her walls covered with brown butcher paper. There was a cup of crayons and pencils sitting in the corner.

    ~

    She wrote and sketched on those papered walls day after lovely creativity-filled day!

    ~

    Yes, I was that young reader and budding artist. I still feel the same joy in the discovery process. It leads me to put art in unexpected places. I’m minding my creative business in ways that allow me to do the work I love, often collaborating with passionate entrepreneurs, institutions, artists, restaurateurs, designers, educators, and more.

    ~

    So whether it’s a poetry vending machine, curating a community pop up dinner with art pairings for each course, or working with architects to incorporate immersive artistic experiences within a design — I love to make stuff and find ways for it to live in the world.

  • In the news

    Stephanie's recent feature stories & interviews.

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    Q&A interview

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    Profile

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    Feature

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    Feature story

  • www.StephaniePruittCreates.com

    or

    Check out Stephanie's resources for artists at

    www.NoStarvingArtist.me