StuffStudio

Bio

StuffStud.io is a Black, Queer, multidisciplinary artist, ancestor-in-training, and recovering academic. Best known for decades of work in southeast Minnesota as a mentor, an advocate, a grant writer, and a Somatic and Narrative psychotherapist. In her own words, her advanced degree is in "listening to stories and helping them grow feet." 


StuffStud.io crafts spaces for untamed imagination and collaborative dreaming.


You can also find StuffStud.io developing video games with trans, queer, neurodivergent storylines, and offering a series of community workshops that celebrate collaborative storytelling, honor oral traditions, and the sacred art of call-and-response culture embedded in the Black diaspora.


Familiar

A Black Collectivist Archetypal Framework

Written & Developed by StuffStud.io 2025


The difference between Stereotype and Archetype is NUANCE.

The concept of a Strong Black Woman becomes a stereotype when our expectation of that woman is that she is always strong. She is made completely of resilience and grit. She is not recognized in her softness, in her needs, or in her full humanity. 


In this framework, we explore the necessity of many energies coming together to support the work of being alive, in community, and fully human. There are 14 identified base energies with the CHILD in the center of the wheel, where we all find our joy, curiosity, and authenticity, and the SHAPESHIFTER as the mechanism of the wheel, the energy allows us to adapt to any situation.


These 14 base energies can be combined to create energies that honor the intricacies of Black lives and the communities they create. There are 23 example combinations. Each archetypal energy, singular or combined, has something to teach, something to learn, its own strengths, and challenges. In this framework, there is no hierarchy, no shadows or outcasts.

EVENTS

Queer Open Studio: April

$0.00

Thursday, April 2nd 6-8 pm


Facilitator: Stuff Studio

Up Above My Head: Honoring Queer and Trans Ancestors


Not all ancestors share our blood or familial ties. They share our hopes, histories, and experiences. They are the people who went ahead of us, carrying their passions, joy, and resistance, leaving the door wide open for us to play in their path. In this Queer Open Studio, we will explore queer and trans leaders whose rest, work, and play made ours possible. Come experience found family while we create colorful, personalized mobiles to honor the chosen ancestors who have made a way for us.


This Open Studio centers Queer and/or Trans participants ages 18+ for art making alongside others. Learn more about Open Studio here. Previous art making experience not required!


Advanced registration required. 


As part of Curiosity Studio's Open Studio mission, we are committed to offering these programs for free. To help us reach the greatest number of people, we ask that you do your best to attend the programs you sign up for.

Thursday, March 26th 6-8 pm


Facilitator: Stuff Studio 


Theme: Sacred Unmasking


Surgeons scrub out. Skilled performers have a green room. Superheroes have everyday identities. Cultures across the world are as intentional about removing the ceremonial mask as they are about creating it. In this Open Studio, we will create personal vessels, safe places to set down the masks we wear, and remember how to return to ourselves when the performance is over. 


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ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED



Open Studios are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Thursday, November 20th 6-8 pm


Facilitator: Stuff Studio


Theme: Archetypal 


In this open studio, a new Black collectivist Archetypal framework will anchor our creative exploration, helping us bring forward creative choices meaningfully.


We’ll discover that Black creative traditions like Jazz aesthetics—the principles of improvisational creativity—and call-and-response aren’t just Black musical forms; they’re technologies for practicing community power, agency, and self-definition. When we freely and choicefully play in a supportive space, we build capacity to carry that same quick-on-our feet, and intuitive decision making into our daily lives.


There are many ways to participate, create, play, and connect at this visual storytelling event using colorful paper craft, beads, yarn, other fiber art, archetypal coloring pages and more. No skill level needed, just your curiosity!


*Advanced registration required* 

Click on the BIPOC OPEN STUDIO picture to register! 


https://curiositystudioclass.com/classregister/bipoc-open-studio-september 


This Open Studio invites BIPOC-identifying participants ages 18+ to make art alongside others.  Previous art making experience not required. As part of Curiosity Studio's Open Studio mission, we are committed to offering these programs for free. To help us reach the greatest number of people, we ask that you do your best to attend the programs you sign up for.


This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Thursday, February 19th 6-8 pm


Facilitator: Stuff Studio


Theme: Community Power


Creativity is not a luxury. Rest is not betrayal. The people are not powerless. But knowing this and feeling it in our bodies are different things. 


In this BIPOC open studio, we will take time to create, rest, and embody our strengths together.


Participants will have the opportunity to create meditative paper tiles that represent their strengths. Participants may choose to contribute their paper tiles to a temporary mosaic on the studio table that symbolizes and tells the story of our community power.



*Advanced registration required*


This Open Studio invites BIPOC-identifying participants ages 18+ to make art alongside others.  Previous art making experience not required. Learn more about Open Studio here.


As part of Curiosity Studio's Open Studio mission, we are committed to offering these programs for free. To help us reach the greatest number of people, we ask that you do your best to attend the programs you sign up for.


This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Artist  Statement

Black wisdom calls us to transform everything we touch to create progress, mischief, and magic-- something holy out of nothing good. Black art is more than a collection of words and technical brush strokes. It is the experience of creation itself. 


My illustrations preserve the sacred, making fleeting moments eternal in the stillness of the frame. When stillness isn't enough, I allow stories to move through animation and short film. And when the movement feels laborious, I call on my community to sit close enough to feel me whisper and sigh as we birth these stories in deep collaboration.



StuffStud.io honors the spirit of Story in all its forms. Her work is a catalyst for venerating lived experiences, reimagining the future, honoring tradition, and connecting people to themselves and each other.


Projects & Events

  • Events

    Upcoming events: 


    Open Studio: March

    Thursday, March 26th 6-8 pm


    Facilitator: Stuff Studio 


    Theme: Sacred Unmasking


    Surgeons scrub out. Skilled performers have a green room. Superheroes have everyday identities. Cultures across the world are as intentional about removing the ceremonial mask as they are about creating it. In this Open Studio, we will create personal vessels, safe places to set down the masks we wear, and remember how to return to ourselves when the performance is over. 


    REGISTER HERE


    Queer Open Studio: April

    $0.00

    Thursday, April 2nd 6-8 pm


    Facilitator: Stuff Studio

    Up Above My Head: Honoring Queer and Trans Ancestors


    Not all ancestors share our blood or familial ties. They share our hopes, histories, and experiences. They are the people who went ahead of us, carrying their passions, joy, and resistance, leaving the door wide open for us to play in their path. In this Queer Open Studio, we will explore queer and trans leaders whose rest, work, and play made ours possible. Come experience found family while we create colorful, personalized mobiles to honor the chosen ancestors who have made a way for us.


    This Open Studio centers Queer and/or Trans participants ages 18+ for art making alongside others. Learn more about Open Studio here. Previous art making experience not required!


    Advanced registration required. 


    As part of Curiosity Studio's Open Studio mission, we are committed to offering these programs for free. To help us reach the greatest number of people, we ask that you do your best to attend the programs you sign up for.


    Covid Safety Protocols


    Masks are not required at this time. Masks continue to be available for participants and instructors that are interested in wearing them. We trust that individually and collectively we can exert care in our attendance decisions to promote the wellness of our community if feeling sick or symptomatic. 


    This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

    Past Events:

    February 19th 2026

    COMMUNITY POWER | BIPOC OPEN STUDIO

    Registration is required. 


    February 7th 2026

    FAMILIAR: InFORMATION

    In the Gallery: Stuffstud.io

    Queermunity - 3036 Hennepin Ave S

    Feb 7, 6:00 PM – Feb 7, 7:30 PM


  • 2025 Workshop Series: Familiar Unfamiliar

    In MAY and JUNE of 2025, StuffStud.io facilitated: 

    FAMILIAR|UNFAMILIAR: Your Black Identity Gets to Define Itself.


     A cohort of 13 Black-Identified participants (The Circle) met weekly to uncover: 

    • What stories emerge when we stop translating ourselves for others?
    • How to shift Black Stereotype to Black Archetype. 

    We engaged in reclaiming, reaming, and storytelling through guided reflection and call and response. 


    We identified and investigated 36 Black Archetypes that honor the nuance of Black lives and the communities they create.


    JULY-AUGUST

    StuffStud.io wrote an interactive tool that featured Black Archetypes from our Circle Discussions. 14 base archetypes that stack, interconnect, and combine to make 37 complete, nuanced archetypes and community roles.


    SEPTEMBER -NOVEMBER


    A REAL BLACK CONVERSATION

    September 26th 2025: Sacred gallery opening and storytelling workshop for Black-identified attendees (Winona, MN) with local Winona, MN Black-owned catering


    COMMUNITY OPEN

    September 28th 2025: Community open house gallery and community storytelling workshop (Winona, MN)


    FAMILIAR|UNFAMILIAR One-month exhibition run Sept 19th -October 19th in Winona, MN


    November 20th 2025: BIPOC open studio, interactive workshop, and artist talk (Minneapolis, MN)


    November 22nd 2025 FAMILIAR|UNFAMILIAR

    Final community event combining gallery, artist talk, and storytelling workshop (Minneapolis, MN)


    February 7th 2026

    FAMILIAR: InFORMATION

    In the Gallery: Stuffstud.io

    Queermunity - 3036 Hennepin Ave S

    Feb 7, 6:00 PM – Feb 7, 7:30 PM


    February 19th 2026

    COMMUNITY POWER | BIPOC OPEN STUDIO

    Registration is required. 

    Curiosity Studio (Minneapolis, MN)


  • The Future We See Ourselves

    The Future We See Ourselves is a multi-media interactive vision board that  features contributions from contemporary Black scholars and community leaders answering the questions: 

    1. “If everything that you have been advocating for came to pass, what would the future look like? 
    2. Who would it benefit, and why? 
    3. What do you imagine happened for it to finally come true?”

  • In Story Development: Solana.

    Solana. A Black coming of age story set in Lowcountry South Carolina.


    Genre: Magical Realism


    Logline: Captured an eerie sense of familiarity, Solana must push through her timid nature when she discovers three golden skeleton keys that might just be  a portal to a beloved place she is told she doesn't belong.


    Gameplay is set to be a Dark Souls-lite (sprawling magical narrative with colossal and fantastical creatures, but with adjustable difficulty settings) meets Plants vs Zombies 2 (a strategic interactive combination of magical plants is a large part of the gameplay's defense and combat) meets Dragon Age (fun, chatty party members). 

  • In Story Development: Winhaven

    A Black Speculative fiction with a Majority Black cast from across the diaspora


    Mosa is a  Black 19 year old deaf, AuDHDer, emerging reporter, alternative/punk rock baddie with a life sized mechanical corvid named Raven. Raven is Mosa's  personalized disability device.


    Setting: Mosa lives in a  fictional Northren costal port city, Winhaven, that is ongoingly being gentrified. Mosa, driven to break into 'real investigative journalism' gets way in over her head navigating the underbelly of Winhaven where secrets rule the streets.


    Gameplay: Fast paced Life is Strange/Detriot Become Human (choice based narrative) with an ensemble cast, meets Hitman (stealth, exploration and creative multi-solution strategies) meets, oddly enough --The Sims 2 (character stats, emotions, needs are a part of gameplay). 

Solana

Portal to the Deeper Still

Coming Soon

Winhaven.

Listen to a table reading

Coming Soon

familiar/unfamiliar

Black Archetypes

Journal Prompts

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