Leonard and Kathy Stept enjoy a
beuatiful summer day in the Sculpture Garden at the Carnegie Museum of Art.
To Instill
Imagination
For Kathy Stept, a fondness for the arts led her to
discover her own artistic talent and to a long-term relationship with
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. “I was always interested in the arts,” says
Kathy. “I was working in business when, in 1980, I decided to go back to
school to pursue a graduate degree in psychology. I wandered into the art
department and wound up pursuing a degree in the studio arts program.”
While Kathy was in school, she became a museum
volunteer. Throughout the 1980s, she put her business degree to work by
consulting with several departments on museum programs, administrative
projects and Carnegie magazine.
In 1983, Kathy helped develop the Carnegie
On Tap program, which continues to this day to attract young
professionals to the museums for unique, after-work entertainment.
“I really enjoyed working with everyone at the museums,
“says Kathy. “It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who wanted to
share their talent and knowledge of the arts. Ever since, I knew I would
always be involved in the arts in some way.”
“The arts raise our level of thinking and provide a sanctuary
for us from the rest of the world, which gives us the opportunity to
ponder, critique, disagree and imagine.”
While taking art classes, Kathy discovered her talent
for painting. “I painted quite a lot for a while,” she says. “But only for
myself, and for the sheer enjoyment of creating something out of
nothing.”
But Kathy isn’t the only artist in the family. Her
husband, Leonard Stept, M.D., has an aunt who makes her living as an artist
and an uncle who turned to sculpting since his retirement. Another uncle,
Dr. Raymond Stept, was passionate about art and acquired a large collection
during his lifetime.
“Art has always been a big part of both our lives,”
asserts Kathy. “We have been patrons of the arts in Pittsburgh as long as I
can remember because we believe they play an important role in both society
and education. The arts raise our level of thinking and provide a sanctuary
for us from the rest of the world, which gives us the opportunity to
ponder, critique, disagree and imagine.”
Recently, Kathy
enrolled in the docent class at the Museum of Art because she wants to
continue her arts education and to instill an interest in the arts in the
children who visit the museums. “I enjoy working with the children who come
to the museum most of all,” says Kathy. “They come for a fun day out of
school and without even knowing it, they end up learning something.”
Today, Kathy and her husband Leonard are Carnegie
Museums of Pittsburgh Donors at the Guild level. They also have made
bequests to the Museum of Art. They are pleased that the funds generated by
their bequests will become part of the museums’ endowment and provide
permanent support for its operations.
“My husband and I are grateful for the opportunities we
have to enjoy the museums,” says Kathy. “It’s important to visit the
museums often because they keep us in touch with reality by putting it all
right out in front of us. Yet, they also encourage us to wonder, question,
and interpret what we see in our own way, on our own time, with our own
imaginations.”
|
