 |
| Demonatrating at the Laguna Beach Winter Fantasy Show |
|
|
Steve Cunningham was born and raised in New Orleans. Except for a train, skates, and finally a bike, at age 12, all of Steve's toys were hand made by his Uncle Walter, who was also an artist. As a child, Steve spent much of his time watching as his uncle whittled, sanded and shaped each one. In time, he learned to make them for himself.
At age 18, Steve was trained as a paratrooper and served in Vietnam where he received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star among other metals. After returning to the United States, he took up construction and remodeling. He met his wife, Marsha, while remodeling a house across the street from where she also was doing renovation work on an old home. Eventually they married, and finally began to think about what they could do together after they retired.
When Steve's construction business slowed in the early 1990's, he and Marsha watched a scroll saw demonstration at a fair and decided on the spot that it was something he could use to develop another trade. He asked Marsha, who was an art major in college, to draw dinosaurs for him to get started. She started with the brontosaurus and horses she had drawn many times as a child, and then tried other creatures.
They began going to small street shows and farmers markets. Every week folks would ask for an animal that they didn't have, and would be told to come back next week and it would be ready for them. They ended up adding it to their collection, and so it grew and grew! However, everywhere they went someone would say, "You belong at an art show. This is art!" But what's an art show? the Cunninghams wondered. After some research, they began to find a few and now travel the country, displaying their collection.
|
 |
| Steve's Workshop |
|
|
 |
| Explaining how to teach 1st graders to draw |
|
|
|
|