Steffen’s artistic career began in 1983 when he left his home town of Berlin, Germany to move to France. Inspired by the architecture of Paris and the landscape of Southern France, he began to explore his talent as a woodcarver and sculptor. Steffen returned to Berlin in late 1984, where he designed and built interior waterfalls and fountains. Since moving to Seattle in 1990, his primary focus has been painting in acrylic. Over the years he developed his own style, which combines geometrical patterns and free-flowing designs with subtle textures and rich colors. In addition, Steffen designs his own papers, which he uses to create unique mats and backgrounds. In the early 1990’s, Steffen returned to working with low-fire clay, sculpting relief’s covering a variety of subjects. Using a multi-step casting process he then reproduces these images in a mixture based on water and paper fiber. Every piece is hand-painted and combined with Steffen’s own mat designs, resulting in an exciting and very distinctive look. Currently, Steffen is working on abstract and realistic landscapes on canvas, returning to the images that inspired the beginning of his artistic career. Before making his work directly available to private collectors, Steffen was working with commercial designers. He has extensive experience with small and large volume contract work. Past installations include: The Skagit Casino and Resort, Bow, WA; Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA; Barclay Dean, Bellevue, WA; GTE Offices in Coeur d’Alene, ID; Trend West Resorts in Arizona, California and Las Vegas.