Well known for his twig-lidded earthenware obvara vessels, Steve is venturing into new venues. Exploring sculptural, high fire glaze, stoneware pieces, he realized he would need new handling techniques. Whereas he could pluck small pieces from his kiln with tongs, heavy items required gloves capable of handling 1700-degree heat. (Imagine reaching into a 1650-degree kiln the first time hoping the gloves would work.) With technique mastered on larger bowls and platters, Steve is now working on the construction of a big chess set—big as in a 24-inch king.

In addition to constructing new styles of ceramic pieces, he’s sledge-hammer deep in constructing a new live-in apartment with an adjacent 1700 square-foot studio. Considering the fact that he assisted the Alliance Art Gallery in the construction of the lighting for our new space at 121 N. Main, one might say that Steve is triple-deep in construction: Gallery, Studio, and Sculpture. He laughs. “I have limited workspace right now. I can only do one thing at a time. But I want to get back to teaching. I have 10-12 hardcore students. Teaching is funny; you learn more than you teach. It’s so inspirational.”

As our first featured member artist in our new location, Steve very likely will bring a half-constructed chess set … a sign of an exciting new future for Steve and also our Gallery.

Join us for our first 2nd Saturday—June 11—in our new location at 121 N. Main (right across the street from our former 112 N. Main location) from 4-7 PM. We continue our 6:00 PM guest artist and featured member artist talks. Anyone visiting the Gallery any time on Saturday can enter our drawing for a featured piece of art by one of our featured member artist.