Stephen Spong

Born in 1960, I grew up in Southern California, in a artistic family loving the outdoors and
 the texture of nature,
from the mountains to the sea.
I was attracted to the arts at an early age,
 and painted my first painting at age four.
I continue expressing my attraction to color and form
 not only in painting but also ceramics and other multi- dimensional media. In high school art and
 shop classes
I further developed skills with brush and a variety of tools.

Experimenting extensively with mixed media further helped me developed a keen
 understanding of color relationships and the interplay of color in the context of form.
My early professional years I spent in design and the manufacturing of fine, custom
 furniture. But the calling of art soon returned, beginning with ceramics. I took from furniture
 his acquired knowledge of precision design, form and finishes and applied it to his ceramic
 techniques.
I experimented with glazes and won several juried competitions for his abilities.
I returned to school, studying under an old master painter and learned the painted glaze technique of the Flemish and Dutch masters, i.e. the application of color on color transparent glazes.
As a working artist I took a studio in an indu...