Guestbook




	I would love it if you would Add an Entry to this guestbook I am keeping

Hi, i really love your work, some call it 'weird' or 'scary' but i actually see the art in it.
It's not that dead animals atract me, but i have seen the 'too gross for discovery channel' about a million times.
My favourite creation are the kiddie kat's. This is like the same thing as the jet engine in a y2k bike.
you know it, why put a jet engine in a y2k bike? because we can. So why put a doll head on a cat corps, not so much
because we can, but because it looks cool, and its art. That's why i like it so much. My girlfreind thinks your a freak,
i told her that you were a true artist and that her posters of zac efron were freaky, she did't liked that very much
as you can imagine. And i used to have the kiddie kat I on my laptop background, but she wanted me to remove it,
so put a picture of a barely dressed avril lavigne on it, she didn't like that, so now there is a train on the background of my pc.
anyway, love your work!

greetings from a dutch fan.
October 15, 2008 06:41:38 PM EDT

As part of the group of people who paint, glue on and otherwise alter “perfectly good cars” I and have seen some amazingly inventive and crazy creations, but those Roadkill placemats are over-the-top and really made me laugh. I won’t be ordering any for anyone I like, though!.

Holly K
April 24, 2008 12:02:30 PM EDT

I'm sure you get many e-mails, hopefully in positive praise of your work (lol). But I just had to write you myself. My Girlfriend showed me the un-aired episode of "Dirty Jobs", and I cannot express how hard we laughed. It was so much fun, truly priceless indeed! The combination of humor between you and Mike Rowe was beyond hilarious. And can I just say; your a Genius, and one of the most creative people I have ever seen! You are our new Hero, and have since inspired us to go on our own "Roadkill Scavenger Hunts" and possibly take up the hobby and art of Taxidermy.

We have both since put that same clip on my "MySpace", displaying it proudly to share will all who view it. It's been quite the hit I must say. I sent you a friend request - so you should become more active on "MySpace", so that way, you can add me :-D

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

-Alison
February 3, 2008 9:06:42 PM EDT

Loved you on Dirty Jobs, to bad they didn't air it, because they did air the "autopsie assistent" one.
Cool hobbie too.

PdB
December 18, 2007 1:23:12 PM EDT

I first saw your works in your video "Creature Nights of Ohio" My roommate, brother, and I laughed ourselves silly. Your work is imaginative and skillfully done. To anyone who would consider this "sick" or "wrong" I would suggest having a nice juicey steak and chilling out.
Keep up the good work!

C.Harper
December 2, 2007 12:14:32 AM EDT

Dear Mike Wessells [see entry below] - Let's cut through the bullshit Michael-we all have "dirty jobs" and in case you didn't notice, the art is therapy. Do you think it was just coincidental that Hannibal Lecter was a psychiatrist and understood why Buffalo Bill skinned his victims!
{the difference between the wise man and the ignorant man is the wise man knows that he's ignorant}. C.G. Jung

Denis & Sabina
July 23, 2007 11:56:32 PM EDT

Hello, I just wanted to say that I watched the segmet you did on Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel and I loved it. That is some great work you are doing and it is very interesting. Keep up all the good work and I wish you the best of luck with your work.

Steve from Boston
Boston, MA
July 20, 2007 11:14:33 AM EDT

“Little Piggies Above the Valley of Domed Vegetation” is beautifully provocative. The luminous green/yellow base, combined with the warm, natural wood under-base provides a lush, eye-appealing compliment of hues. The strategically placed floral glass globes give the work a dazzling, be-jeweled look, while the piglets on the summit (one dark / one light) imply a Yin-Yang balance. The octagonal base along with the globe-embracing, swirling green arms almost suggest a nautical, octopod feel—something created a century past that one might see on Nemo’s Nautilus.

The green octopus (aquatic) and piglets (terran) seem to counterpart the “Sweet Dreams” sculpture, which displays the circling fish (aquatic) and of course the sleeping cat (terran). This symmetry is further exemplified between the two sculptures by the circling fish (consciousness) and the sleeping cat (unconsciousness) then again by the active octopus (consciousness) and the piglets (unconsciousness).

I find the look of these new finely mitered, radiant-colored sculptures absolutely enchanting, and I hope to see an entire series of them. My compliments, Stephen.

Ron France
Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
April 15, 2007 03:56:21 PM EDT

Did you eat paint chips as a child?

Jessica Grasby
April 10, 2007 07:13:33 PM EDT

very cool art

Misty and Mathew
March 19, 2007 08:20:06 AM EDT

I have just discovered your work. Your sense of humor is wonderful. May you have much success!
Happy Dollmaking

Coppermouse
January 14, 2007 04:15:06 PM EST

I just watched you skin a raccoon on Dirty Jobs this morning and thought the whole process was very fascinating!

I have to wonder, did you put the raccoons on the road just for the show or were they really there to begin with, seems
like you have a lot of roadkill hanging around.

Chelse Mittermaier
February 14, 2007 10:07:06 AM EST

Thanks for the invitation to visit your site. What a talent in such diverse fields! I enjoyed my visit and shall check back when I need to smile.

Harmon
January 31, 2007 7:55:20 PM EST

Awesome !! I particularly enjoy the ones where you create new species from existing ones. Among my favorites are Turkle and Kiddie Kats 1 & 2. Keep up the good work !

Nicole Chiu
January 9, 2007 6:03:57 PM EST

Mannn, don't listen to that last guy. All I can say is, if there were more guys out there like you...I wouldn't get a whiff of a dead coon every time I drive. I'm definately a fan, keep up the good work.

Stephen
January 10, 2007 07:50:06 PM EST

I heard about your discovery channel video and watched it, then went to your web site. All I can say is that you are a troubled guy. Whats up with taking photos of roadkill? I am wondering if you have a secret work area where you work on bodies of children. Dude your disgusting….get some therapy.

Mike Wessells
January 4, 2007 2:11:19 PM EST

I am glad to see someone making money off of raccoons since the fur industry went kapuut around here. At least JC Penney has the guts to have coon and fox on some of their jackets. Hope your business does well.

Kathy
December 12, 2006 8:57:13 PM EST

You have an amazing talent. Reminds me of another controversial artist by the name of Joel-Peter Witkin.
Nice work, keep it up..

Jason Sforza
Girard, Ohio USA - Saturday, August 12, 2006 at 12:44:47am (EST)

I have known Stephen for over 30 years……. He is the Godfather of my second son….he is first and foremost - bizarre to some degree – an exceptionally talented artist. I was there in the beginning and thought he was trying to find himself and that one day he would join the rest of the human race and be “NORMAL”…Much to my delight he has never attained that status, while most of us just succumb. Bravo Stephen! You kept your integrity, vision and followed your calling..some of us do not have the courage or even the understanding of what our calling is…you did! As I travel through your work Stephen, I see the crazy teen that I remember so well….the wonderful times we had growing up together, before my children were born and after. I am not so sure about the road kill placemats though..
You are an old soul..

Claire Pera
Naples, Florida - Wednesday, June 20, 2005 at 11:41:23 (EST)

I don’t need to be a doctor to diagnose some of you as sick bastards. One of you even pawns himself off as a Doctor. Your depiction of animals juxtaposed against the human form nauseates me. I offer the following words to ponder

"God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages."
~Jacques Deval, Afin de vivre bel et bien

The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest.
~Henry David Thoreau

And Finally

“The common harbor porpoise has an abrupt snout, pointed teeth and a triangular thoracic fin. While the bottlenose dolphin, or Tursiops truncates, has an elongated beak, round cone shaped teeth and a serrated dorsal appendage.”
“You really love animals, don't you?”‘
“If it gets cold enough.”

Ace Ventura, Pet Detective

JLR ...Akron,OH USA - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 at 03:47pm (EST)

Came upon your site through MacDesign Online Website [Forums]. I was looking for why my roll overs don't seem to work once I upload them, when I got hung up looking at websites done purely in Golive. I have to say your work is unusual, but very interesting. By the way, I usually don't give my opinion but I do like what you have, and had to tell you.

Anne - Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 05:58:07 (EST)

SP, you put the "OO" in Taboo. My psyche has been engorged by the feast of your Road Kill depictions. Thank you for "drawing the line between the allowed and the forbidden, between God and Man, between the sacred and the profane, between what may be touched and what may not be touched, between the living and the non living, the permitted and forbidden fruit", A. Werbart 'Our Need Of Taboo". The use of the fish eye lens is sheer genius in removing Mourning and Melancholia from the viewer. I am ever reminded of the dadaistic visage of Don Van Vliet con stove pipe hat and severed fish head in Trout Mask Replica. "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." -William Blake
HUZZA!

J. Ward Phoenix AZ - Tuesday, April 26, 2005 at 07:54:07 (EST)

Imagine a website where folks like Dr. Ward can blather, while all others try to figure out what he is saying. Steve P. has always been ahead of the curve, and it's just taken awhile for you hillbillies to realize it.

Buster Crabbe, OH USA - Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 02:54:07 (EST)

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed looking at your website. Your black & white photography is so beautiful. I really love the infrared images from the Cuyahoga Valley area. Thank you.

Victoria <vmiller898@aol.com>
Cleveland , OH USA - Saturday, January 22, 2005 at 06:35:13 (PST)

You are one wacky dude. I really like the animal sculptures. Keep up the great work.

Joe <joegetter@aol.com>
Tallmadge, OH USA - Saturday, January 15, 2005 at 11:55:47 (PST)

Wow - what a cool site! and BIG too

P-Man
Boston, MA USA - Saturday, January 15, 2005 at 06:22:50 (PST)

A true genius!!! Incredibly talented at everything he does, regardless of the media he is working with. I'm drawn to all of his work, but especially to pieces featuring animals. The wonderfully twisted sense of humor in his work often belies deeper subject matter - many pieces appear shocking or macabre when initially viewed, yet when given closer inspection and deeper consideration, are reinterpreted as tongue-in-cheek social commentary. I recommend to all who read this - keep an eye on this website for more treats from this prolific guru / jester! I can't wait to see what's next!

Miss Sarina <CustomCreature@ mn.rr.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 at 11:56:46 (PST)

To the patron saint of RoadKill-you've ripped open the synapse between Eros and Thanatos the very conflict that draws us yet repels us from perusing the road kill animal. As a child weren't we all intrigued by that bloated animal, belly about to burst like too much Jiffy-pop. E.Becker in "The Denial of Death" acknowledges that fear we all live with, ie. our own decaying corpse, a condition we only assign to others. As Camus writes, "soldiers bravely march off to war saddened by the potential death of the man seated next to him". The roadkill is that ever-reminder of our own terminal condition or those entrails now laying along the roadside in Falujah. Leary warned us not to look in the mirror while our myelin bathed in lysergic acid for what we saw was our own death mask-and too the roadkill is nothing more than the calling card to our own future-thank you s.p.

Dr. Ward <DWard25@neo.rr.com>
Uniontown, OH USA - Friday, November 12, 2004 at 09:01:16 (PST)

What a neat site. I loved the road-kill series. i find the aesthetic riveting. and what a range of work (prints are interesting). nicely organized too. the road-kill work though is one which touches the heart and mind: harkens goya/german expressionism in the subject matter and the lines; the direct confrontation with death, the macabre, the tragic, the horror, and the violent. they are hard to stomach. wonder where the artist will go next? thanks. bret

Bret Chenkin <bchenkin@yahoo.com>
Bennington, Vt USA - Thursday, August 19, 2004 at 04:24:47 (PDT)

Just wanted to say NICE site.The hardest i have laughed in a while. The pics are wonderful.After all these years here never new the beauty that is around here.Thank you once again for showing. Jason Griffith of APEX Glassblock.Whats up steve?

Jason griffith <sgr412@neo.rr.com>
Cuyahoga falls, OHIO USA - Thursday, August 05, 2004 at 07:50:36 (PDT)

Very interesting subjects. I liked the hand colored B/W's roadkill. But wondering what you have against showing the 'other' side of roadkills? Where are the trees, garbage cans, telephone poles and mail boxes. Are you just squeemish or prejudiced? Keep up the good work. We don't need more boring artists doing the same old thing. I look forward to any new work.

chris <cpwilldo@yahoo.com>
westlake, OH USA - Monday, July 19, 2004 at 02:09:27 (PDT)

As an admirer of both the living and the DEAD, I find Sir Stephens' ART, not only awakening, but enthusiasticly inspiring. I think, personaly speaking, without having known such an individuals artwork I probably wouldn't have known it. Now, I think you need to get BIGGER, this is the critique. What I mean by this is, evolve into the ART that I think would really make it all come together. By BIGGER, we as the viewers need to be shocked. All these animals in Ohio and none of them ran into each other? Come on! Ok, the chuckduckalope can run, but what if, and that's a big what if, the Aquasapien and the Chuckduckalope say had an "encounter"....what then. Mickey Pera....your number 1 fan.

Mick Pera <theotherwhitemick@yahoo.com>
Southernmost, FL USA - Monday, July 19, 2004 at 01:56:53 (PDT)

I really enjoyed the Photography - ALL of it! WOW you have a great eye and a very origanal style. I will visit your site soon and hopfully purchase some items I must show my wife.

Raymond L
USA - Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at 15:33:49 (PDT)

I finally found a web site sick as me. Love it man. You rock dude.

Jason
USA - Monday, July 12, 2004 at 15:12:31 (PDT)

you're gross

missy
clayton, TN USA - Sunday, July 11, 2004 at 18:05:27 (PDT)

Wow. Happened upon your site while searching. So much to see. It seems to go on forever. I just found the controversy stuff and it looks like I'm going to be doing alot of reading my next visit. Very Nice site!, Interesting too.

Allison <allycat2996@excite.com>
OR USA - Thursday, July 08, 2004 at 19:02:23 (PDT)

This website is quite amazing. It is a veritable fine art gazpacho. Classic and experimental photography, mixed with hallucinogenic sculpture and printmaking, with a little animal husbandry thrown in for good measure. This artist is firing on all cylinders.

smellbob <smellbob@aol.com>
San Francisco, CA USA - Thursday, July 08, 2004 at 05:55:29 (PDT)

Outrageous site!!!! I'll check you out again....Loved the Road-Kill stuff. Barkin'-Dog

Barkin'-Dog
USA - Saturday, July 03, 2004 at 14:42:29 (PDT)