5/27/19: Today is Memorial Day, and in honor of those who have served, I wanted to take a look at an artist who is also a military veteran.
Jeffrey Stenbom grew up in the American Midwest where he was attending art college. But just eight days after 9/11, the brave young man joined the Army. After a rough deployment in Iraq, the young man returned to the States, injured in both mind and body. He knew he needed to find a way to work through his PTSD, but he wasn’t sure where to turn. Luckily for us all, he decided to try returning to art and began working with glass.
“Creating art is an escape for me. It is my outlet from within, from the confines of my own mind. The experiences I had in the military and particularly in Iraq shaped who I have become as a person. I do not always know how to interpret my thoughts and memories of these experiences in words, so art becomes my medium.”
-Jeffrey Stenbom Artist Statement
Stenbom’s work is undeniably powerful and impactful. I feel like it’s going to be one I will remember forever.
I found today’s artist through an amazing organization, the United States Veterans’ Artist Alliance. The USVAA was founded in 2004 by military veterans who wanted to highlight the work of fellow veterans in the arts, humanities, and entertainment industries.
You can follow Jeffrey Stenbom on his website and on Instagram. And you can learn more about the USVAA and explore more of their artists on the organization’s website.
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