Laura Evonne Steinman, community artist, educator and activist believes that lives are nurtured and transformed by creating art together.
Laura Evonne (she, her, Laura Evonne) weaves together justice work with creative spiritual actions. She has worked with people of all ages in schools, community centers, neighborhood backyards, religious institutions, farms, senior centers, orphanages, and hospitals.
Laura Evonne currently is the full-time Art Teacher at the Stetson School. Stetson School is a MA766 therapeutic residential boys school serving 9-22 year olds with a trauma informed care approach.
Laura Evonne has presented at many Mass Art Education Association (MAEA) Conventions over that last 10+ years. From “Material Uses in the Classroom” to “How to create a Multi-sensory Classroom” , “Engaging students of all needs and abilities”. “Art Educating with our Hero’s in Mind” And ” Worms and intersectionality”. She is also a board member of MAEA and serves on as the community arts rep and on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) task force and conference committee.
Spring of 2017 Laura Evonne finished up 7 years as the Director of Children’s Religious Education at Arlington St. Church, Unitarian Universalist in Boston. She designed and was part of making it possible for the Black Lives Matter banner to hang in front of church and worked with a huge team of volunteers to open the church doors during the Women’s March. for Bostonians to enjoy refreshments, restrooms and listen to the bells playing from the tower.
In the fall of 2011 Laura Evonne was active with Occupy Boston in the faith and spirituality tent and with the protest chaplains. From that is where the “Occupy Your Heart” stickers were born! The question “What fills your heart?” goes along with the stickers!
Laura Evonne Steinman was named the 2014 Special Needs Art Educator of the Year by the Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA) and was honored at the local MA convention last fall and the National Convention this past April in San Diego, CA. She received her BFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and her Master of Art in Art Education (MAAE) with a Concentration in Community Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Laura has created art around the world and lived in Warsaw, Poland from 2002-2007 teaching art in hospitals, schools and orphanages.
When Laura Evonne is not facilitating art making or organizing art happenings, she is sewing something large and colorful, finding treasures on the side of the road and getting her hands dirty in the soil!
Currently, Laura Evonne lives and has a home art studio in Gardner, MA with her therapy cat krowka, a bunch of plants, lots of fabric and found objects!