Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebby Stewart.
Hi Rebby , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Rebby, I’m an anishinaabek artist based in West Michigan. I’ve been drawn to art for as long as I can remember, as well as nature, I spent so much of my childhood outside. I especially loved birds and listening to them, so much so that my dream in the third grade was to be a birder. Eventually this evolved into combining my passions with nature as my muse for art.
I’m surprised I didn’t find it sooner, but my spark for art and what it means to me today, really took shape with duck stamp contests as well as the community that comes with them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I always gravitated towards art through the years, taking as many electives as I could through highschool, then putting a year towards a BFA in college before taking a step back from school to figure out what I really wanted to do.
I went birding, I made art for fun, I worked as a barista, but a real turning point was getting hired for the front desk at one of the local nature centers in my early 20s. I loved working in that environment and felt inspiration for personal growth as well as turning the focus of my art to nature.
A new chapter came and I became a stay at home mother. Things slowed down a little, but I found a way to make it work and brought my daughter along to local markets selling my wood burning art. Things slowed down again when my second child was born in 2020, and then slowed again when my last child was born in 2022. Trying to balance life and art with three kids under 5 was harder, but I found smaller ways to create. Then in 2023 I set my heart on entering the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for the first time with a watercolor painting of a northern pintails hen and two ducklings. It felt like a fresh start!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve always found joy in any kind of creating and making. Dabbling in various mediums and inspirations over the years because of it; watercolors, ink, acrylic, sewing, embroidery, woodburning, crochet, linocut. Now I work mostly with watercolor, block carving, and digital art. My biggest inspirations are plants and animals, with a focus on species native to the Great Lakes Region.
As an avid birder, I especially love waterfowl. I’ll be entering the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for fourth time this year now. It’s one of the largest conservation efforts in the country and so cool to be a part of. I choose hens and ducklings specifically for my subjects each year. I believe they are underrepresented in the competition but are at the heart of conservation. It also feels special to me as a mother. Each year I’m told my art has a cozy, storybook feel and it just makes me so happy. That’s definitely my goal when I create, I want things to feel soft, whimsical, and have a little story with them. I love hearing people remember my entries from previous years and that it brings them joy too.
Getting involved with the duck stamps has also been the gateway for me to get back into art as my kids grow older and I find myself with more time. Exploring new mediums in digital art and I especially love block carving. I love making smaller corresponding blocks for handprinting clothing!
Even diving into the realm of video editing as I share my process and connect with others has been a lot of fun. It feels good to be finding my stride and creating what makes me happy!
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My social media handle stems from how I used to spell my name plus my middle and last initial, so Rebee P S turned into rebeeps! Even though I spell my name Rebby now, rebeeps ended up being its own little word that’s easy to remember.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rebeeps.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_rebeeps_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeeps
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebeeps
