Art bio Bio: Steven Ross Brownell Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Moved to Chicago for a short time and then settled in the Battle Creek area in Michigan. Took one art class in my senior year, There, my art teacher, Mr. Mackie, wondered why I hadn’t taken any art classes before. He seemed somehow impressed with me. During high school I was really into pastels and that interest stayed with me for several more years. I also had a fascination with making wooden frames, mostly old pieces of oak, and framing my more likable pastels. The frames were rough and sturdy. The first competition I entered was called, “Battle Creek Landmarks Competition”, in 1978. I didn’t want to do the usual buildings or centers. So I settled with a park called Minges Brook Park. There I took some photos of what I thought was an aesthetic scene looking through an arched bridge with a road going through it. Along side is the Minges Brook with the shadows of trees on the dark pavement. Thus, called,” Minges Brook”. I believe it was unaccepted but a relative, Aunt Margaret Leatherman, thought it was nice and bought it. Kellogg Community College was the beginning of a four-year study to become a high school art teacher. It was interesting and I enjoyed most of my art instructors. My drawing teacher, Mr. Collopy, and ceramics teacher were quite inspiring. I also enjoyed my art history classes with Mr. Hubbard. After that I went to Western Michigan University. I found most of the professors knowledgeable and helpful. The art history classes also drew my interest. I enjoyed searching for information and writing the papers due. Just before I graduated from WMU I entered the Kalamazoo Area Show in 1982, and had one painting accepted, called,” Kay” Shortly after that, I had the opportunity to go to Thailand. So, in 1982, I hastily graduated with a BS in Art, with the idea of coming back to WMU to pick up the last two classes for my teaching certification. Well, that never happened.