A handful of people spill out of a certain storefront on Princess Street every Sunday afternoon, with sketchbooks, pencil cases, and tool rolls in hand. They have just finished what gallerist Stephanie Stone calls “Sunday devotion” — her term for the figure drawing sessions she facilitates in the Fully Awake Art Gallery for artists of all levels to come practice their drawing skills in honor of the human body. Stone provides the easels, stools, and trained nude models for artistic study.
Randy Nieves is one of the students who met Stone through the Cameron Art Museum.
“They close their life drawing sessions through the summer because they have children’s activities, so having this option is fantastic. As a figurative artist, you want to keep practicing. Also, there’s not much in Wilmington to do on a Sunday,” Nieves said.
Fine artist and photographer Kirsten Pores came for many of the same reasons.
“I love how intimate the space is, both upstairs and downstairs,” she said, while Karen Polomik “appreciates the weekly engagement.”
On the third Friday of every month, the gallery also offers Friday Night Sober Sketches, an alcohol-free themed gathering where artists may practice their skills by drawing a draped model. Both are born of Stone’s personal experience as both an artist and figure model, as well as someone who struggled with addiction while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design years ago.
“I have been through a journey of nightlife and addictions, and I too felt when I let that go, I didn't have a community anymore because that was my social life,” Stone said.
Offering the community something to do that does not revolve around alcohol has been a priority for her since opening the gallery in April of 2026.
“Those who are sober curious or want to be sober but still have a nightlife per se, they have an option to come create. And in hearing that from the community that there isn't a lot of options to do that, and because a lot of artists in the area now are realizing, ‘I don't need to be on substance to create,’ I'm hoping to attract that demographic of people, whether sober curious or not. Come hang out. You can have tea or be home by 9, or then you can go have your nightlife later,” Stone said.
Her business model also offers a chance for participating artists to sell their work.
“Artists who practice here in the space are allowed to submit their sketches to sell to help offset the cost. Once they sell, then they can use it for the classes or I cut them a check,” she said.
Stone grew up in Syracuse, New York, before moving to Wilmington as a teen with her family in 2000, then graduated from Topsail High School. After leaving college, she moved home and continued to educate herself in the arts while waiting tables, supported by her mother and stepfather, who encouraged her to keep creating; soon she began to sell some of her paintings.
Ten years ago, she sat for the first time as a figure model for a commissioned painting in a private setting and thought, “I want to do this!”
While competing as a professional bodybuilder, she pursued more figure modeling work, seeing it all connected as “ways of honoring these temples—our bodies.” She has modeled for students at the Cameron Art Museum and at Cape Fear Community College and now coaches future models using her years of experience in the field. All of this made opening the doors of her gallery to models and artists alike a natural fit.
“It's been this beautiful smooth flow,” she said of opening the two-story well-lit location. And on the hard days, she still goes to the gym to “dig deep into the dark places” in an effort to continue offering this safe space.
Witnessing the emotions art inspires is truly what keeps her going.
“People can come in and share a piece of their story so that they know they've been heard,” she said.
At the same time, there are bills to pay and events to plan, both as gallerist and working artist—she is a featured emerging artist at the ACES Gallery until the end of October.
This month she is offering artists an opportunity to show their work in a collaborative community art exhibit at Fully Awake Art. Participating artists purchased blank masks and then decorated or deconstructed them. The exhibit featuring the final products opens Friday.
The theme extends beyond Halloween season, Stone said.
“We pretend we're not who we are or we get an identity placed upon us from external circumstances. And having to try to navigate those seasons of ‘who am I?’ I feel like we put masks on no matter, depending on friends, family, work,” she said.
She asks, “What if it doesn't conceal you? What if it actually transforms you and gives you the courage to be seen versus hiding?”
Beyond this show, Stone will collaborate with various nonprofit organizations to tie fundraising with themes for upcoming exhibits.
Collaborative Community Mask Exhibit
Opening Reception:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 2026
- 6 – 9 p.m.
- Fully Awake Art Gallery
- 205 Princess St.
- Wilmington, NC
For more info, see Fully Awake Art
Arts reporting for WHQR is made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Wilmington and The Endowment.
