International Art Phenom Tracy Lee Stum to Create 3-D Masterpiece in Multi-Million-Dollar Riverstone Home

(Sugar Land, TX – Sept. 10, 2010)  The art of internationally acclaimed Tracy Lee Stum transports visitors to a world where trains and sharks lunge into the sky and tigers float above the ground on towering totems. In early October, this world of grand illusion arrives in Riverstone. 

Considered one of the world’s foremost street artists, Stum will create a new 3-D masterpiece in a newly completed multi-million-dollar estate home by Sterling Classic Homes in Riverstone, a Johnson Development master-planned community in Fort Bend County. Visitors will be able to watch the artist create her illusion from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6-8. Those not able to see the artist in person can still view the artwork, as the home will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 9-17. Tickets for both time periods are $5 each, with proceeds benefiting various charities. Realtors can see the artwork and tour the home compliments of Riverstone Oct. 13. All visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the artwork by posing with the finished piece and becoming part of the 3-D illusion. 

“Since they are 3-D, we think the photos will be something different and will work as great profile pictures on Facebook,” said Riverstone marketing director Christen Johnson. “They will really ‘pop’ off the page and be quite amusing.” 

In keeping with the street art theme, Fusion Taco and the new Fusion Pita are bringing street food to the event weekends, Oct. 9 and 10 and again Oct. 16 and 17. A hit throughout Houston since their launch this year, the gourmet food trucks will be onsite 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering a blend of Asian and South American cuisine and Middle Eastern favorites. 

The first 250 people purchasing tickets will be able to attend a special event, Artful Living with Neiman Marcus, 7 p.m. Oct. 8. During the event, fashion and home décor will be added to the artistic mix, with Neiman Marcus showcasing the latest design trends. Stum will be present to add the finishing touches to her artwork and mingle with guests. Fort Bend’s popular Aura Restaurant is catering the event and a jazz trio led by Houston’s irrepressible Jaime Casco will wow guests with their impressive sound. Tickets to the opening event are $75 and include a copy of Neiman’s treasured “Book.” 

The artist visit and Artful Living party are part of The Grand Soiree, a collection of stylish events. Introduced to street painting while in Europe studying art at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, Stum began her foray into the medium in 1998 after attending the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif.  

“I became very enthusiastic about the possibilities of this art form,” said the Pennsylvania native. “Encouraged by the festival’s other participating artists and friends, I realized I had found something very special to me and became enthralled with it.” 

Since that time, Stum has participated as an invited featured artist in many festivals and events around the world, including exotic locales such as Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, Italy and India, and also throughout the United States. 

While schooled in classic masterpieces, Stum looks to her own imagination for inspiration when creating a new work of art. “I am most excited about my original designs since they are how I challenge myself,” she said. “I also like to entertain by creating worlds that are intriguing to the viewer — that seem as though you could step right into them. I am interested in world cultures, symbolism, idealism and universal commonalities, all of which inspire my concepts.” 
Her work has gained broad notice and has been featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and in the BBC documentary “King of the Strip” about the making of the Venetian Hotel and Casino, for which she created a more than 11,000-square-foot trompe l’oeil ceiling mural that challenges the eye with her characteristic 3-D images on a two-dimensional plane. Currently, Stum holds the Guinness World Record for the largest street painting by an individual for her interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” commissioned for the DVD release of “The Da Vinci Code.” 

Dedicated to bringing her art form to a wider audience, Stum is a leader in organizing large-scale public arts projects worldwide, and has helped develop street painting festivals in Asia, North America and India. During a tour of India, Stum created exhibition 3-D paintings and taught workshops at five prestigious universities and art schools. In the U.S., her accomplishments include conducting street painting workshops at the acclaimed Getty Center in Los Angeles. 

Examples of Stum’s work can be viewed on her website, www.tracyleestum.com. 

The Grand Soiree spotlights Houston and Fort Bend’s finest in 10 events hosted from Sept. 25 through Oct. 27. Activities include Couture for the Cause in Sienna Plantation, benefiting the American Cancer Society, champagne bus tours to the Houston Design Center’s fall market, The International Risotto Festival at the Houston Design Center, an art gallery exhibit in Riverstone showcasing the work of Kathy Womack, a Women and Wine art dinner with Kathy Womack at Aura restaurant, a Fire & Ice jewelry dinner at Post Oak Grill in Sugar Land, and Mix It Up at the M Lounge, a bartender’s challenge. Ticket prices to the individual Grand Soiree events, sponsored by Johnson Development’s Riverstone and Sienna Plantation, vary. For more information, visit www.TheGrandSoiree.com. 

For more information about Tracy Lee Stum in Riverstone, visit www.riverstone.com or phone 281.499.8700.