Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Uveges. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Stephanie, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

If you would have met me as a child you would know two things. One. I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. This was a far fetched, “maybe someday” dream of mine. And, two, I waned to become a mother through adoption. Little did I know, these two dreams would happen simultaneously and change my life forever.

In 2019 I was working as an elementary school heath tech and pursing my new found resin hobby to stay busy while my husband deployed to Afghanistan. Fast forward a few months and our family of two grew to three when my husband and I decided to adopt a second grade student we fell in love with! My daughter inspired me to keep on creating and follow my dream of becoming an artist. I started selling online and taking custom requests while spending my Saturdays at small business markets. She was, and still is, my biggest inspiration and cheerleader.

Then 2020 hit and our life, as well as everyone else’s, came to hard stop. Schools shut down and we were all forced to stay home and stay safe. Our day to day looked a little different not only because of the virus but because we adopted again! Our 2 year son joined our family 24 hours after we received a call about a little boy needed a home. We said yes before we ever saw him and were flooded with love and support by family and friends.

We were faced with difficult decisions to make literally over night. I was left with the choice many first time moms have; leave my position at the school, which I loved, to stay home with my children, or go back to work and figure out a childcare situation. My husband reminded me that being a mother was my calling and this was my chance to fully embrace it.

Staying home with our children allowed me to fully commit to this hobby turned business of mine. I wanted to show my kids that even a “maybe someday” dream could be real life if you believed in yourself. I wanted my daughter especially to see that women can do anything and being a mom shouldn’t not stop you from achieving your goals.

I officially registered my business with the state and named it Blue & Rose Studio. After my inspiration, my daughter, Blue.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Stephanie, the artist behind Blue & Rose Studio. I am a proud Latina of first generation immigrant parents who instilled in me what leaving your doubts behind and fully pursing your dreams looks like. I kind of fell into the preservation industry by accident and easily became obsessed.

I specialize in preserving your special moment forever through the art of resin preservation. I take your wedding bouquet or memorial flowers and create beautiful, hand made works of functional art. From teardrop necklaces, bookends, and decorative serving trays, I slowly transform your flowers step by step over several weeks.

This medium takes an extreme amount of dedication and attention to detail to master. I think this is one thing most people don’t realize. There is so much more to resin art than mixing two liquids together. Epoxy is a chemical reactions with several variables involved from the amount of humidity in the room, the perfect temperature and more, that need to be perfect in or order to create successfully. Another challenge clients don’t really see is how much is out of the artist control, especially when working with flowers. In particular, translucent sport on petal (bruising) is something I have very little control over but is something I learning to perfect through color restoration.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think something many people, not just creatives, struggle with is comparison. I know one of my biggest personal struggles was being disappointed when my work didn’t look “perfect” like other’s in the same industry. What I have come to learn and respect is how far I have come in my own journey and it was not fair to compare my 2 month old progress to those who have been doing it for years.

I had to master my own style and find what worked best for me. I learned to highlight my strengths and create work that reflected me any my style. I learned that by letting my personality and passion shine through, I was able to stand out on my own. Now when I view other artist’s work I can usually point out who’s is who’s before seeing who it was posted by. I hope others can tell my work apart from others as well.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

This is goal I haven’t share yet, but I would love to give back to the foster community more than I do now. I donate a portion of each sale to a local non profit serving the foster care community.

I know first hand how helpful resources like this can be and it makes a huge impact not only in the life of kids in care but the families welcoming in as well. Our family would have never been able to provide for our kids in the first weeks without the help of resources like a foster closet that donated, clothes, shoes, strollers, a crib, basically everything we could ever need when our son very unexpectedly arrived. I would love to expand past a monthly donation and start a something that provides support more and monetarily.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blueandrosestudio.com
• Instagram: @blueandrosestudio
• Facebook: Blue&Rose Studio

Image Credits
Kelsey Williams- photographer of family photo