Pounding heavy metal music so loud it vibrates through the walls might not be a conventional atmosphere for an artist’s studio, but it’s exactly the creative space you’d discover for artist Steven Thornburg. It is in this creative chaos where gears, tools, chains and scrap metal are welded, brazed, forged and bent, morphing into custom metal creations. He affectionately calls his combo of metal music and materials Metal Meditation.

 

“Unlike many who need silence to concentrate, the intensity of the music clears my mind allowing me to visualize the concepts I eventually bring to life. Once I see it in my mind, my hands do the rest,” says Thornburg about his unique process. Another important element is the collaboration with his clients. “People come to me for something different and unique, but I also want each creation to have purpose and meaning to the client. I enjoy working with clients to craft, just the right piece.”

 

For Steve, creating things is in his blood as a third-generation artist whose mother was a ceramicist and jewelry-maker and grandfather was a master custom carpenter. A self-taught artist, Steven groomed his innate talent and artistic eye from a young age starting with drawings of buildings, spaceships and motorcycles which grew to practices such as welding and metal-forming in early adulthood. To this day, he is continuously seeking out new methods and ideas to push the envelope on his creative abilities, finding inspiration even in unexpected places. Like his most notable work, the Scrap Metal Guitar series, which began as a challenge from his best friend to see if he could turn recycled scraps into a guitar. Today, you will find this one-of- a-kind collection on display at Rock & Brews Restaurants.

Through his Metal Meditation, Steve has made many intricate and endlessly interesting creations that are truly eye-catching.