Steve Kearney has been creating art for over 30 years. He sold his first watercolor when he was 9, and has since painted buildings, completed fine art murals dozens of feet long, and even used oil paint on the surface of a pool. Despite his body of work and his large commission pieces, like most artists Steve maintains a day job – in his case as a contractor rehabilitating and renovating buildings.

Steve works large. He considers himself a mural painter, but maintains the personal motto, “I paint anything on anything.” Most of his pieces nowadays are contract work, with his most recently completed piece consisting of five four-foot by eight-foot canvas panels. The mural was commissioned by the Center for Catholic Charities in Minneapolis, and depicts service sites, people, and ideologies that represent charities in the city. Kearney says that he personally enjoys doing work with non-profits and public organizations, and has created large-scale art both indoors and out for a number of these groups.

His experience isn’t just limited to large pieces, or commissioned work. Over the years both Steve and his wife have been involved in art and craft shows.  These shows are often the only places where artists and crafters have a chance of not only exposing their work to the public, but of getting paid for it.

“Unfortunately much of the time an artist might only make the money back that they paid for their table, or in fact come out at a loss,” Kearney says. “What these people do is a passion, as it is for most artists. If you work out the amount of time they put into their craft with how much money they make, sometimes it ends up being pennies per hour.”

These observations combined with his personal experience moved Steve to utilize unused workspace and open the Crafters Collective of the Chippewa Valley.

    Beginning in October, the collective has snowballed and now represents about 35 artists from around the area. For a modest consignment fee, the collective is a place where artists can display their work to the public at almost no cost.

What sets the project apart from others in the area is the large space available. Kearney explains, “One girl has a Jellyfish there she made out of found wire. It hangs from the ceiling and is about three feet wide, and hangs six feet down. We have a vet who has been hand carving walking sticks for decades, he has roughly 120 of them available, and they’re amazing.”

Co-ops like this have come and gone for various reasons, but Kearney says so far the collective has accomplished what it was supposed to. He wanted to create a place where artists can go, especially those with little money, and have people view and potentially purchase their work.

Art co-ops are at a premium in the Valley. Being an artist can be difficult, and more often than not the work someone puts into their passion isn’t enough to pay the bills. The truth is that, regardless of talent or quality, many artists and crafters simply can’t find a place to display their work. Kearney saw an opportunity to open up an affordable space to these folks, and ran with it.

    The Crafter’s Collective of the Chippewa Valley is located by Dick’s Divots near Altoona, just off Hwy 12 at 2729 Pleasant View St. and is open Saturday and Sunday from noon until 6 pm.