| Stephen Kishel: |
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| Stephen
L. Kishel was born in Muncie, Indiana. His parents were teachers, with
long summer breaks, and so could indulge a taste for roughing it nearly
every summer on a remote island in western Ontario. The contrast between
a mid-western university city and a log cabin without electricity was a
rich one. His father, a high school art teacher, taught him to
appreciate the postcard - like sunset and sunrises the wilderness
offered – and the industrious life of constant repairs and restoration
it takes to care for a cabin after nature has had an entire winter to
reclaim it. As he learned to love nature and solitude in Ontario, he
learned to appreciate knowledge and learning in Indiana.
His father took care that Stephen learned several ways to express himself in art, but early on he came to love sculpture, especially welded metal sculpture. In 1973, Stephen married Gloria Ann. By then he was studying electronics at Ohio Institute of Technology. Three years later he began working full time in the family plastic business. But about four years ago, Stephen decided to concentrate on his art and devoted up to thirty hours a week to welding metal pieces. He has created several hundred pieces ranging in size from tabletop to corporate and public works. He does commissions and offers his work in galleries and even upscale restaurants. In 2002, Stephen and his family relocated to the Carolinas. They bought a house in Bluffton, seven miles from Hilton Head. It site on an acre of wooded land and has a separate studio in back. Stephen and his wife enjoy walks along the May River, set in a salt marsh – where the sunsets and native birds make it look like a postcard.
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