One Day I Started a New Life

Welcome to the whimsical, imaginative, and soulful world of Stacy Russo’s art. In this magical realm of possibility and resiliency, dogs fly, joy abounds, and memories emerge for creative inspiration. Stacy’s earliest experiments with collage and art-making were within the dynamic, DIY culture of the 1980s Southern California punk rock scene when she used cut-and-paste methods to make political zines. After a dark period in her creative life, she returned to visual art for restoration, self-expression, and to heal from trauma. One Day I Started a New Life features a selection of collages, mixed media memoir work, and children’s book art created over the last decade.

Stacy Russo is a California-based visual artist, writer, poet, and certified expressive arts facilitator. She serves the Santa Ana College community as a librarian and associate professor. Stacy is the author of several books, including We Were Going to Change the World: Interviews with Women from the 1970s and 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene (Santa Monica Press) and Love Activism (Litwin Books). With degrees in English and library science, she is a self-taught artist. Stacy is currently pursuing her PhD in Transformation Studies at California Institute of Integral Studies. She lives a “chocolate before noon” type of life in a house full of books and art with her two rescue dogs. Stacy believes every person has creative power and an important story to tell.