Ojeda is always thinking about the signals of interpretation cast by mediums and proximity that determine how the body reacts in tandem with expectations: comfortability, uncomfortability, vulnerability, somatics, sensation and history. At times it's as if she is setting a tone rather than delivering a message. She hopes for those who enter her work to reflect on their own contribution by being present and what preconceptions remain intact or evolve in line with the tones she sets. All in an attempt to navigate her own sense of self in a cultural landscape that at times can feel tone deaf to the nuances of cultural cargo that a gaze carries. She creates this work with a sense of optimism and hope that the same cargo she draws from comes to be helpful in building community within arts spaces.

 

Based in New Jersey, she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration and Art teaching certification from New Jersey City University in 2016. This combination of study inspires her to create work which exemplifies her interdisciplinary teaching style and expresses her joy in the art making process. Steffany completed her first artist residency at the Mana Contemporary in 2018 with the Eileen  S. Kaminsky Foundation and was awarded Teacher of the year in 2019. Though prominently a painter, Her art takes on many forms. She currently works as a visual artist from her studio as well as teaches AP Fine Art, Art Honors and Computer Graphics to High School students.