(Image: Ananya Mishra)

By Ananya Mishra

Steve Jensen has been working out of his Capitol Hill studio for over 37 years. He is the son of Norwegian immigrants and he comes from a family made up of fishermen and boat builders. At first glance, it’s apparent that his artwork is inspired by Scandinavian culture, Viking boats, and other nautical elements. Beneath the surface however, is a story on how a person can take something incredibly painful and transform it into something beautiful and healing.

“My best friend asked me to build a carved boat for his ashes when he died. One month later, he died of AIDS.” Steve built wooden boats for the ashes of his best friend, both of his parents, as well as a former long-term partner. These boats were then buried at sea. To him, this is a modern take on a Viking funeral. He has since received multiple requests to build more funeral boats.

Steve Jensen’s gallery is located at 1424 10th Ave (Image: CHS)

Death and grief are recurring themes that are embedded into his art. The boats depicted in his paintings and sculptures represent a symbolic voyage to the other side, after a person passes away. Driven by environmental consciousness, he breathes new life into old objects. He incorporates a lot of salvaged material, litter, childhood possessions, and donated items into his work.

Steve is currently experimenting with his Message in a Bottle project. “If I could send someone who passed away a message, I would want to tell them ‘I love you.’” He finds glass bottles on the streets of Capitol Hill and he writes the messages on nautical maps.

When asked about his day to day, Steve responded with “I do my paperwork in the morning and then I work on my art from 9 to 5…I try to not work on Sundays.” His advice to working artists is “get your work out there, wherever you can.” This is what helped him build his own business.

Steve Jensen’s gallery is located at 1424 10th Ave. It’s open by appointment and on the 2nd Thursdays of the month during the Capitol Hill Art Walk. He hopes that his work can help others process the grief in their lives as well. Learn more at stevejensenstudios.com.

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.

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