 Profile
Sculptor Steve Miller, born and raised in Atlanta, GA.
Steve comes from very humble beginnings. As a child, he remembers both his parents having to work, and his father sometimes working three jobs. Though financially strapped, there was never a shortage of creativity and talent. His father was an auto mechanic and fabricator. His mother shared her artistic talent with the family by giving inspiration and direction while teaching the children the basics of drawing.
As a child Steve excelled at the arts. He was accepted to an art school following submission of a drawing test when he was just six years old. His interest in the arts continued through high school where he took art classes every quarter of every school year. By the time he was a senior, Steve was allowed to participate in an independent study program where he was responsible for creating his own assignments and seeing them through to completion. Following high school Steve applied, and was accepted, to the Art Institute of Atlanta; however, his financial situation required him to take on a full-time job so he was unable to attend.
Steve spent the next 18 years as an auto body repair technician by trade and an artist only as a hobby. It was then that Steve met Ms. Anita Pauwels. She was an artist that had been retained on consignment for the Galleries West Fine Art Gallery. Ms. Pauwels explained the process for creating bronze sculptures and Steve realized it required the same skills he had been honing all those years as an auto body repair technician. He had been sculpting damaged cars back to their original condition, perfecting his metal working skills and sculpting with different mediums - composite plastics, fiberglass, polyesters, etc. Steve spent 25 years as an auto body repair technician perfecting these skills until May of 2005 when he became a full-time artist.
Steve spent a large portion of 2007 working with renowned sculptor Martin Dawe in his Atlanta studio and he recently began teaching sculpting classes at a Georgia’s community center. Steve’s work has been displayed across the U.S and as far away as Florence, Italy. He’s also currently represented by Gallery 4463 in Acworth, Georgia.
Steve’s creations are filled with both meaning and questions and his motivation brings a life to the inanimate as few can. As with many artists, his work is influenced by the greats-Donatello, Bernini and, yes of course Michelangelo-but his true inspiration comes from a much deeper place—a much higher place. “I’m not really sure where my ideas come from, but I know I have to trust them,” says Steve. His passion shows through clearly as he talks about his work, “When I’m creating I feel like I’m not in charge, it’s almost as if I’m watching someone else work. I want my work to mean something, to help someone, to live through its interaction with others.”
Steve lives in Marietta, Georgia, with his wife and two sons and is a member of the South Cobb Arts Alliance, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art and The National Sculpture Society.
Exhibitions:
Art in Full Bloom, Mable House Cultural Center, April 2001
14th National Juried Art Show, Mable House Cultural Center, July 2001
Georgia Marble Festival, Pickens County Chamber of Commerce, October 2003
World of Art, Mable House Cultural Center, April 2004
"Messieurs d' Art" exhibit, Mable House Cultural Center, August-September 2005
Metro Montage V, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, January-March 2005
25th Georgia Marble Festival, Pickens County Chamber of Commerce, October 2005
Fifth Annual International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Fortezza da Basso,
Florence Italy, December 2005
The Fifteenth Annual Loveland Sculpture Invitational, Loveland, Colorado, August 2006
South Cobb Arts Alliance Members Show, Mable House Cultural Center, September 2006
25th Georgia Marble Festival, Pickens County Chamber of Commerce, October 2006
1st Annual Botkins Sculpture Invitational, Botkins, Ohio, July 2007
The Sixteenth Annual Loveland Sculpture Invitational, Loveland, Colorado, August 2007
South Cobb Arts Alliance Members Show, Mable House Cultural Center, September 2007
Holiday Small Works Show, Gallery 4463, Acworth, Georgia, December 2007
Press Releases:
Marietta Daily Journal, Lifestyles, September 29, 2003
Pickens County Progress, People, October 6, 2005
Pickens County Progress, People, October 13, 2005
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cobb, November 24, 2005
Loveland Reporter Herald, Valley Window, August 11, 2006
Lima News, Lifestyle, July 27, 2007
Commercial work:
Caffeine Communications, Created two burning fireplace sculptures for DESA Vanguard, 2006
CherryLion Studios, Cast 21 life-size children for the City of Alpharetta, 2007
Custom Artisan Group, Created 6-foot Geisha girl for The Geisha House Restaurant, 2007
Julia Burr, Cast 50 ants for a children’s hospital in North Carolina, 2007
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