Stephanie Crawford moved from Detroit to New York in the 1970s, and at 36, got a scholarship to pursue an MFA at Pratt, where she developed a close friendship with the influential East Village trans artist Greer Lankton. Crawford’s paintings of flowers and boxes of candy are tokens of beauty and appreciation any diva would come to expect from adoring fans. In addition to her work as a visual artist, Crawford is a celebrated jazz singer—the music of modernity and self-invention. In the 1980s she performed regularly in the 1980s Downtown New York scene—at the Blue Note in the Village and the Pyramid Club on Avenue A—and bridged the world of blues and drag. From 1989 to 1996, she taught jazz vocals in Paris and received the prestigious award ‘Django D’Or’ for Best International Jazz Vocalist in 1993. A practicing Buddhist, Crawford now lives in Oakland, where she continues to paint, perform and teach.