Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Wells.
Steven, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Eleven years ago, I moved to Missouri from Texas. Ten years ago, I started drawing on coffee cups. This past year I reached my ten-year milestone of creating something on a coffee cup and posting it online as Thinkwells Thoughts including a short thought or message every day. It’s not a big thing or something I’m widely known for, but it is an interesting hub for my story.
Two things I never wanted to be growing up were the two things that my parents did. My dad was a small-town preacher and my mom was a teacher. I saw the challenges in each career more than I saw the blessings. My perception was more limited back then. I always wanted to do something in the art world. Life has a way of opening our eyes and broadening our perspectives, though. I ended up being an art teacher for 7 years before becoming a missionary and a preacher. But that was before all this.
Since moving my family to Missouri my kids have grown up here, my wife has taken care of us all and I eventually got my Master’s and a teaching certificate in Missouri. We even had a short run at running a shop called Create 4:10 with a great team of partners. Most of our life here has been wrapped up with a church called the Crossings leading small groups and watching it plant other small churches in the area. Little by little I have been trying to stay creative and do something with my art.
I was 38 when I discovered my birth parents. We didn’t know much about them except that my birth mother had been enrolled in some art classes during her pregnancy. With that my mom made sure to raise her adopted son in a way that included encouraging his artistic skills. She didn’t have to do much, but everything she did made a great impact on me. When my birth-father found me towards the end of his life, he led me to meet my biological mother who happened to be a recognized artist with a studio in Ohio, She, too, had a play in feeding my need to create.
How could I not do more with my art? How could I not do more with my life? (I know. We all think that, right?) Well, all along the way I’ve tried to do something positive with whatever I do and look for creative outlets along the way. If I’ve accomplished anything, I’ve helped some people through some tough times and helped a few people grow, while allowing them to grow me right back. But I’ve tried to put myself out there artistically just a bit. Daily I would do my cup drawings and post them online through Instagram as Thinkwells and Facebook as Thinkwells Thoughts. Some connections at the short-lived Art Institute I got to know some area artists. I’ve had some work featured on a local coffee shop’s coffee bags, organized a little cup-drawing venue, and done some performance paintings. We were swayed to join Create 4:10 since several side projects had gone over well. Really it has not been all that much, but little by little it kind of adds up. By now I have digitally published over 3,650 cup drawings on socially media, drawn a number of people at local events, painted things here and there, and have helped my students take steps toward developing their own artistic skills and voices. Since early Spring, I’ve even started posting picture collages of all parts of St. Louis that I find myself exploring. I might keep that up, too. (There’s a lot to see around here.) So, here I am at the tail-end of a ten-year journey of a daily habit that has blessed my life and a handful of others, and I’m simply wondering what will be next. Whatever it is, I just want to encourage others that they. too, with just the little things they try to do every day, can make a positive and encouraging difference in this world.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
To leave Texas is not easy for a Texas native. But leaving a nice home and job to move far away from family to join a different church and return to be a full-time student at the age of 40 was kind of a giant leap of faith. The day we moved here; my biological father passed away. I turned right back around and did the funeral. Returning to St. Louis I got to be a student worker on a university campus to help with expenses. My wife got a job at a day care while our family of five stayed in student housing. I’d say that was a struggle. I also had to deal with some struggles with my character, which my church specializes in. The things this religious group can seem extreme at times, but really, that’s what a caring family does when “tough love” needs to be shown. Even trying to show the same kind of love to others is just as taxing and wrenching, but with persistence, the relations formed have been real. While in campus housing, we were still trying to sell our house without much luck. The housing market was horrible and eventually, we sold the house for less than what we spent on it. It took a while to secure decent work and a house, but my wife and I both have jobs now that feel more secure (She works for a bank now and I currently work as a k-8 Art teacher) and a place that feels like a great home for our family. …Even if it isn’t Texas.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Although I spend most of the time working as a teacher and a teaching classes at our church, I try staying creative. I draw on cups daily as a tribute to both of my mother’s as well as a journal to keep my creative juices flowing. I’ve illustrated a few book covers and a couple of books (which I thoroughly enjoy) and I hope to do some more. I’ve been encouraged recently to put my ten-year journey with coffee cups into a book, and my pictures around St. Louis deserve a wider audience according to some. I do mural work and set pieces, I do caricatures at events from time to time, and I regularly do custom artwork for family and friends. The artwork I do tends to involve nature and is often done in an illustrative style using primarily ink and watercolor.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I was a missionary in Morelia, Michoacan MEXICO for 3 years so I can communicate in Spanish pretty well. I play the trumpet. Kind of. And the harmonica, too! And I’m known for my whistle.
Contact Info:
- Email: thinkwellsworks@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOCYdJJlZW/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thinkwells
