Roxanne Evans Stout: A Trip to Australia

Fibre Arts Take Two is delighted to have an ongoing relationship with artist and guide Roxanne Evans Stout. We recently caught up to talk about her latest visit to Australia.

Roxanne is not just an artist. She’s a master of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, the mundane into the magical. Her artistry transcends mere technique. It’s an enchanting journey into the heart of creativity, in wilderness and wonder. 

If you’re ready to unplug from the ordinary and journey into the realm of creativity, guided by a true artist and soulful mentor, you’ll enjoy our talk with Roxanne Evans Stout.

Visiting Australia

Roxanne made the most of her recent visit Down Under.

“I loved it,” she says, “My very favourite memories are the day we went to Wilson’s Prom. Beautiful rocks and colours, the oranges and golds, and the way that the water was that rusty colour, and it was kind of cool and cloudy. It was just so lovely.” 

It wasn’t her only highlight, “My other favourite part,” says Roxanne, “was when I came into the studio, and Fibre Arts Take Two let me design my studio. I loved it. I got to put all these things out and play with the rocks, stones, and art supplies. It was super fun. I was having a good time. It was just great. The whole trip was amazing. I feel like it changed me. And I feel like it influenced my art in so many ways.”

Change

Roxanne’s visit to Australia has also changed her artistic expression, “I was sitting right in the roots, and there was the ground and rocks, and then I made a piece of land art with eucalyptus leaves. I think that’s a lot where my work has changed. Yes, it is more simplified now,” she says.

Her visit also helped Roxanne to make new connections when it comes to stitching, “Stitching is like your pathway across the page,” she says, “and that’s what I’ve noticed that I’ve connected to more after being in Australia is the concept of my pathway and my journey, and I just really felt it with the different beaches and the different stones and the different rocks and everywhere we walked, and I’m so happy to have the footage so I can remember it. That I was there.”

Science, art and nature

Understanding nature is not alien to Roxanne, “I went to college, and I loved my botany classes,” she says, “and I love my natural resources class. I did badly in some of my science classes, but I took this one class called Biological Illustration from an art teacher who fell in love with my work. I fell in love with his teaching, and he became my advisor and helped me create my special major: a third natural resources, a third botany and a third art. So I have a perfect background in natural science and art.” 

Roxanne combines her background in natural science and art with a love of the outdoors, “I used to teach little kids and big kids before I taught adults,” she says, “and I would love to take them outside to play and make art and in the process, I would get to do it, and I would just love that. Outside in my garden, I love making patterns with rocks, sticks, pieces of old furniture, wood, or something. I love that on a beach. I mean, what could be more fun than sitting there and digging in the sand and building a mandala or structure? I think teaching gave me permission to play more and teach my students to play and relax about it and say we don’t have to always be in the studio. We can be outside. We can go on field trips.”

Land art

Roxanne loves being in nature and creating land art, “When you’re outside, you become part of that environment and part of that land,” she says, “But when you’re creating land art, and you find all your materials on the land where you’re working, and you’re inspired by that, whether you find sticks or leaves or stones or you just dig in the earth or use coloured pigments of the earth or whatever you do, it just it connects you more to the place. It’s like time kind of stops, no judgments, no rush. You get to make your art, knowing that the weather or the water might destroy it. Or maybe someone will walk up and see it and go, ‘Whoa, I wonder who did that?’” 

Inspirational words

Roxanne is a brilliant teacher, and to finish, here are some of her inspirational words, “It’s so important to carve out time to be creative,” she says, “When I’m creating, that’s when I’m true to myself. I love that other world to feel you’ve gone into, and nothing else matters. Art can be meaningful, it can be spiritual, and it’s just very playful to me. And I love to try to teach that to my students to play and just let whatever happens happen. When you start, you compare yourself to others and might not feel good enough.”

About the artist

Roxanne Evans Stout lives and creates in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and the mountains and the river lands surrounding her home are her constant inspiration. 

Roxanne shares her art in workshops throughout the United States and has had her work shown and published internationally. She also teaches online workshops to students from all over the world. 

Teaching enables Roxanne to share her passion…nothing makes her happier than helping her students through their process of renewal. Her goal is to help you find your magic. Through her art, Roxanne wants to convey the feeling of connecting, timelessness and re-creation. 

Roxanne’s most significant project, her book, “Storytelling with Collage”, was published in March 2016 by North Light Books. 

As an artist, Roxanne is constantly learning and growing. Art is her passion, her love, her soul.