Stephen was born in Flagstaff, Arizona, into a family with roots deep in the Southwest. He was exposed to ranch life as a child and began working as a ranch cowboy as a young man. Stephen’s introduction to metalworking began with the need to shoe his own horses. Working in front of an anvil developed into a career in ornamental ironwork. In turn, a desire for greater artistic expression led Stephen to explore sculpting. His sculpture depicts contemporary cowboy life.
Today, Stephen divides his time between sculpting, architectural blacksmithing and tending to his New Mexico ranch. He still shoes his own horses.
Although largely self-taught, Stephen is grateful for the opportunities he has had to study with some of today’s great sculptors including Mehl Lawson, Victor Issa, John Coleman and Veryl Goodnight. The community of artists he has come to know have pushed him to excel and continue to be a source of inspiration.
Stephen’s ironwork was featured in the following publications:
Architectural Ironwork, Dona Z. Meilach (2007)
“Themed Railings Can Equal Higher Earnings”,
Dona Z. Meilach, (2006) http://www.thefabricator.com/article/consumables/theme-railings-can-equal-higher-earnings