Steve Bartholomew Studio – 1460 N. Main – Cedar City, UT 84721 435-586-6695

e-mail: steve@stevebartholomewstudio.com

Steve Bartholomew – Artist in Wood

I was born and raised in a small farming community in central Utah, where I was taught the value of good hard work at an early age. At 5 years of age I was driving the tractor up and down the hay fields while my Dad and older brothers loaded hay bales on the wagon.

Whenever I had a chance to go with my dad to the mountain to check on the sheep heard, I did so, with great excitement. I loved the mountains and the animals. Not just the sheep, cows and horses, but the deer, elk, birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. It didn’t matter what moved it was always exciting for me to see them and be around them.

As I got older it became a challenge to see how close I could get to the wild animals. I have had a cow elk come up to me and sniff the top of my head. Other cow elk have lain down to chew their cud within 5 feet of me. I have been close enough to a big bull elk to see his bloodshot eyes and as he raked his horns against the tree his saliva and other fluids hit me. One time I was playing with a chipmunk and he came up on my chest to get a peanut. I have been close enough to mountain lions, that I could have counted their whiskers.

Experiences like these have helped me develop a love and respect for the wild animals. I believe they have helped me to be able to capture them in my art carvings as well.

I attended Gunnison High School where I enjoyed being active in many things like Wrestling, running cross country, leads in musicals, FFA, and wood shop.

I was offered 2 scholarships from Southern Utah State Collage, one in wrestling, and the other in industrial arts. I finally accepted the industrial arts scholarship and very quickly became very close to the professor (my mentor) in the wood shop (the late Stephen Adams). He taught me a love for wood and how to work with it.

After graduating from SUSC I started my own cabinet shop and have been making people’s dreams become a reality and enjoying working with my hands building custom, high end cabinets and furniture for the last 30 years. It is through my dedication to building cabinets the old fashioned way, with modern technology, that I have coined the phrase “Artist in Wood”. The good Lord has blessed us with the ability to take people’s ideas and develop them into works of art. Sometimes it’s a piece of furniture, maybe just a wall hanging, or even a full kitchen.

The true magic happens when I touch a high speed engraver to the wood. This ability to include such incredible detail into my projects makes each carving come to life.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss a project.

Awards:

1st place in 2008 county fair for gun stocks

Sweepstakes Prize in 2008 county fair for Manti temple carving.

Sweepstakes Prize in 2009 county fair for “Home away from Home”

Reserved Sweepstakes Prize in 2009 county fair for “Above Tree Line” the goat pedestal

1st Place in 2009 State fair in Woodworking division for “Above Tree Line”

1st Place in 2009 State fair in Relief Carving division for “Above Tree Line”

Visit Steve’s Cabinet Website – Lebar Cabinets