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Your Online Center of Excellence For Mastering Change in the 21st Century
Coming soon Participate in a wiki site on "Change Management and Systems" http://westbrookstevens.wetpaint.com/ |
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Craig A. Stevens’ Bio as an Artist Sparks of Interest in Art: Art has always been magnetic to Mr. Stevens, attracting his attention since he was a young boy. His high school yearbooks are full of classmates commenting about his art. His first choice for college was the fine arts school of The Art Institute of Chicago. But after interviewing students and walking the halls of this well known institution he decided that the politics and controversial work encouraged by the school was too illogical for a practical young man from Tennessee. He wanted more than to "Just Do His Own Thing" or just shock conservatives, he wanted to make a living creating beauty. That’s when he decide to transfer his interest to the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota Florida, a well know commercial art school. It made sense, after all he was born in Key West and visited his grandparents near Sarasota every year. So as part of the plan he decided to stop first at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville and take all of the Math, English, and Science he needed before he started school in Florida.Major Detour: The plan was logical, it made sense and it lead to Mr. Stevens becoming a very creative engineer instead. Craig says, "I never regretted the decision. I was able to letter in track throwing the javelin and be exposed to the world of technology and science." He transferred to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and paid part of his way through school as a freelance commercial artist. He used acrylic, water color, pen and ink, pastels, pencil, and even cans of spray paint. During this time he painted for about 50 different organizations things like, air planes for his U.S. Air Force ROTC , oil well scenes for the members of the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association and all manner of logos and commercial stuff. Craig says, "From word-of-mouth, I always had plenty to paint and never kept much of a portfolio. The problem was, I was getting burned-out only painting what others wanted me to." Mr. Stevens graduated from UT Knoxville as an Industrial Engineer in 1983, got his masters in Engineering Management/Industrial Engineering in 1985 and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Engineering Management, Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Huntsville in Alabama. During his career as a management consultant he has worked with over one hundred different organizations. He taught graduate classes in the Management of Technology program at Vanderbilt University for three years and is currently on faculty for Travecca University, Belmont University, University of Phoenix and the American Management Association. His creative side helps him to explode out of the box as he helps organizations to design products and services, improve operations and processes, plan for the future and motivate the workforce. His background in art, design, athletics, engineering and science, leadership, management and people is what makes him a true renaissance man. Flame Of Art: Although Craig is still a management consultant and engineer with Westbrook Stevens LLC, he is currently fanning the flames of his art. After 20 plus years of developing management systems for major organizations and 12 years of graduate school, Mr. Stevens developed a series of management models to provide a roadmap for business in the 21 Century. While writing books on these models, to illustrate them he picked up the brush from an old Bob Ross set of oils his mother bought for herself. Then it happened just like "falling off the wagon" from a long dry spell. Twenty paintings later he awoke with a new maturity in his paintings and a growing demand for his art. |
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