BLJune19.ToWeb

Florida Art
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By Steve Keller
If you’re lucky, out of necessity comes creativity. For
local musician Steven Baron, that moment came in
2016. “I bought a beach house in Melbourne Beach.
My intentions were to rent it out, so I really wanted a
unique place that would make it inviting to my guests”,
he explains. “While I was searching for interesting art
pieces, I became frustrated because everything was
off the shelf or expensive for the quality. I had a blowtorch
in the garage from a plumbing repair, and some
wood laying around. So it dawned on me that I could
make a piece by burning a fish onto multiple pieces of
wood to make a nice large plank style piece.”
Wood Burner
STEVEN BARON
Baron, who currently plays bass in the band Guilty Pleasures,
soon realized that his spontaneous art project seem to
catch on. “People who came by would notice the piece and
really enjoyed it. This inspired me to keep going and to expand
on what I did. Since then I’ve made many pieces using
the blow torch, micro torches, paint, burners, dawn soap,
and high voltage. I also really like rehabbing old antique
furniture and making them into a funky bohemian shabby
chic pieces.”
“I never had any previous experience. It just released
from that point. Anything I could create, rehab or re-purpose
all of a sudden was my objective,” he said. “It was
like a new found way of expressing what I like and feel in
the form of art. Color, wood, metal and methods....it just
doesn’t stop because there are no limits as to what can be
created.”
The pieces, mainly marine life in subject, at first appear
simplistic. However, at further inspection, the attention to
detail is quite intense. The manner in which Barron creates
the art is unconventional. Jellyfish, blue crabs and sea turtles
just to name a few. The wood canvas make it a perfect
conversation piece and addition to home decor.
“I’ve been playing music for about 30 years. It’s the
same feeling as far as having the freedom of expression,
but completely different in the mechanism and feeling,” he
explains. “In music I’m part of a collective and we work together
to make a musical piece come to fruition. Yet, it has
the signature and style of each band member. In creating a
piece of art, it’s all from my mind and heart. I will typically
have a concept of what I’m going to do. It will morph along
the way, taking on my thoughts and personality as it goes.
So the final piece is a reflection of just myself. I still get the
same reward of creating something with music as in an art
piece as well. I get to see and feel people’s reactions to a
song or an art piece. It’s really quite amazing to get excited
because someone is enjoying what you made.”
Baron has been a mainstay in the local music scene for
many years. One of the few who have participated in both
44 - Brevard Live June 2019