Gallery Representation
5169 Butler Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412.784.1919
Contact Luke & Eloy Gallery
Bio
My artistic career started very early in life with “showings” on the door of the basement freezer. As I advanced, I moved up to weekly “exhibitions” in the main gallery, the kitchen, with a dedicated space on the highly sought after refrigerator. Not surprisingly, my first art critic was my mom, an art teacher, who helped develop my love for experimenting with new techniques in a variety of medium.
As I grew older, perhaps I loved art a bit too much because it felt as if I changed disciplines daily. I’d spend months and months focused only on drawing (pencil, charcoal, pastel) only to find myself heavily engaged in photography (black & white film and dark room processing). Painting (acrylics, watercolor) somehow led to printmaking (block, silkscreen) that led to stained glass which in turn led to many years of creative writing (short story, novel). This mixed-up hodgepodge of medium left me with little chance of finding an artistic voice. So I put art to the side awaiting that fantastical world to appear that would give me time to explore art once more. I found a “real job” and entered the “real world.”
Then, in 2002 a friend asked me if I would consider taking a jewelry class with her. My friend was very persistent, and with a bit more arm twisting than necessary, she convinced me to sign up.
There are very few times in one’s existence when we can exactly pinpoint a moment that changed our lives. The birth of a child. The loss of a loved one. That first kiss. This was one of those times.
In class I blossomed. Slowly at first, then quickly, as I began to understand and truly embrace “The Process”. I eventually found my artistic voice. It was there without my realization of its existence. Many voices that slowly harmonized into a chorus. A voice that came when I stopped searching, much like love often does.
I see studio jewelry as an art form in its own right and believe that work should be judged not on materials used, but by the artistry of the maker.
Today I am continuing my exploration, mostly with studio jewelry but still dabbling with many other art forms, in my studio conveniently located next to my home. A home shared with two cats and the very persuasive friend who likes to twist arms.
Artist Statement
Like a short story, my work starts and ends somewhere in the middle. The viewer is invited to fill in the details; the what, the when, the where, the why, and the how. Each person's interpretation is a story all its own, influenced by their own personal make-up, beliefs, and mood.The overwhelming variety of narratives, when I chance to hear them, surprises me in their differences, similarities, creativity, and often times, scale. Some viewers may make a small comment about my work. While others weave tales so exciting and fantastical, full of character back stories and plot twists, that I am left wondering who's work it really is. This ethereal collaboration between maker and storyteller, artist and viewer, is at the heart of my work.
Resume
b. Steven B. Samuels, New Jersey
Education
Metal Susan Kasson Sloan
Karen Pekelney
Workshops with John Cogswell, Chris Darway, Vera Lightstone et al
Other New Paltz University, Fine Arts
Rockland Community College, Liberal Arts
Exhibitions & Publications:
2009 Perspectives: New Jersey Metal Arts Guild Members Exhibition
Curated by Ulysses Grant Dietz
New Jersey City University, NJ
Paper or Plastic ?,
Luke & Eloy Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse
Garth Johnson
Quarry Books, 2009
The Art of Opening: Corkscrews & Bottle Stoppers,
Juried by Boris Bally and Michael Hosaluk
Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
500 Plastic Jewelry Designs,
Juried by Susan Kasson Sloan
Lark Books, p.244, photo
Stick it to’em: Pins Behaving Badly,
Curated by Michelle Pajak-Reynolds
Crafthaus Online Exhibit
Birdhaus,
Curated by 2Roses and Emily Watson
Crafthaus Online Exhibit
2008 Art of the Martini 7,
Zaruba & Zaruba Gallery, Frederick, MD
Laughingstock – Humor in Art & Craft,
Luke & Eloy Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
19th Annual New Jersey Small Works Show,
Mikhail Zakin Gallery, Demarest, NJ
2006 17th Annual New Jersey Small Works Show,
Mikhail Zakin Gallery, Demarest, NJ
Related Experiences:
2009 Juror, Individual Artist Fellowships – Contemporary & Traditional Crafts,
Arkansas Arts Council, Little Rock, AR
Arts Organizations:
Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)
Cornerstone Member of the Museum of Art & Design, NYC (MAD)
New Jersey Metal Arts Guild (NJMAG)
American Craft Council (ACC)