Meet Becky Wareing Steele | Small Scale Sculptor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Becky Wareing Steele and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Becky, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
For me it came naturally. I grew up surrounded by artists and small business owners who demystified the process. I first began selling my original artwork in the form of pin-back buttons when I was 18 under the name Becky’s Buttons. I was living in Fort Collins, Colorado and attending Colorado State University. I collected pin-back buttons through high school into college and decided to invest in a button maker. From there I started approaching small businesses in the Old Town area and was met with encouragement and support. Once I started selling my designs to the public there was no turning back. This eventually evolved into my current art practice working with small scale sculpture that supports me to this day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I attended Colorado State University for my undergrad and at the time had difficulty selecting a major. I participated in their interior design program for a year and when I was told my portfolio had not been accepted to move onto the second year of studies but I could reapply next year and would be guaranteed admission to the program I decided to shift gears. This brought me to Art History, more specifically the field of Intuit Art which examines the work of outsider and self-taught artists. This was a liberating experience as I was always hesitant to call myself an artist. Studying artists who created out of a natural impulse to create inspired me to pursue my own artistic practice without hesitation.

The focus of my art practice is small scale sculpture. My work deals with the commonalities that exist in our shared experiences through the examination of scale and environment. Through my sculptural and photographic work with 1:160 scale figures and 1:12 scale objects I explore the impact of scale and how it affects our perception of the world around us. This impact can also be found in the way we perceive ourselves in our environment.

In more recent series I have developed narrative components to accompany the works, allowing the viewer to connect with the piece on a deeper level. Using settings familiar and accessible to everyone is a key component of my work. Through this process I am able to alter the way people view everyday situations, seemingly mundane at times, and invite the viewer to think about their place in the environment by altering the scale.

I think what I find so exciting about working with miniatures is that it is a field that is not currently taught in the context of higher education. I’ve learned through experimentation and skill shares with other miniature artists. Most importantly I’ve found experiences from my past incredibly helpful in my present. What I used to think of as my “lost year” studying interior design actually taught me the skills I still use today in reference to scaling an idea and drafting blueprints for scale models.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

This question hits differently as we are slowly starting to see the horizon line on the other end of this past year of isolation. My daily life has become more internal and about little outings like taking my dog for a walk through our neighborhood. As I start to visualize coming out of this the places I am most excited about supporting are locally owned businesses.

Places like Nooch Vegan Market are an excellent place to grab a quick bite or do a little grocery shopping. FM and Fancy Tiger Crafts are my top favorite local shops in Denver. The exhibit currently on view at MCA Denver is a must see and they have a lovely rooftop to enjoy as the warmer weather sets in. The pupusas at El Chalate on East Colfax are amazing! Weather Vane Cafe is a great place to meet a friend for a coffee or lunch. What I love most about Denver is how community driven it is. Without a doubt you can walk into any of the places listed above and they can offer loads of great recommendations.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

First and foremost none of this would have been possible without the support of my family and loved ones, especially my husband Jason who is my sounding board for all things in life.

Kansas City Kitty in Fort Collins was the first boutique to sell my artwork as well as my longest running account. The owners at the time, Christie Wolfe and Trista Price, gave me the confidence to see the value in my own work and to this day inspire me as incredible, powerful women who are pursuing their dreams. After graduating from CSU I moved to Denver, Colorado and was embraced by a supportive makers community that eventually evolved into a non-profit organization started by myself and a group of good friends and fellow artists called the Denver Handmade Alliance. Through this experience I met so many talented makers in the Denver area and beyond and we started sharing our skills and knowledge with one another.

After overseeing the volunteer program at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver for 4 years I wanted to learn more about running a small business and was hired by Fancy Tiger Clothing (now FM). The owner Matthew Brown took me under his wing and taught me so much about running a successful small business and welcomed me into a community of small business owners and artists.

In 2016 I started a two year residency program at RedLine Denver, a contemporary arts center with a focus on social justice and community building through art. During my time there I met so many incredible artists and learned so much about pursing art as a career thanks to their incredible staff and community of supporters.

At the start of 2018 I started consulting with Public Art Services, a Creative Project Management company based in the Denver area. Over the past three plus years I’ve learned so much about the field of Public Art from Creative Project Manager John Grant, who I had previously worked with at MCA Denver, and the group of incredible artists we work with. Plus it’s kind of fitting that a miniaturist like myself helps to bring monumental works of art to life.

Community is essential and you never know how connections you make will follow you through out your life.

Website: beckywareingsteele.com

Instagram: @beckywareingsteele

Twitter: @bwareingsteele

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckywareingsteeleart

Image Credits
Select Photos courtesy of the artist, Wes Magyar, and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.