Steve Martin: Noah’s Ark: The Legend, Lore, CATastrophe

Each year, Vaillancourt Folk Art is proud to offer different lectures during Collector’s Weekend. This year, as we celebrate our 20th Annual Collector’s Weekend, it is only fitting that we celebrate you: the collector.

Our second lecture series speaker has been an avid collector since the early days. Steve and wife, Karen, have a collection that rivals that of the Vaillancourt museum—they have even purchased the same shelf units as seen in the museum. Since his first Collector’s Weekend, Steve has been finding ways to incorporate a cat into his Painting Workshop Santas.

The story of the Great Flood is one of the oldest legends in mankind. It exists in one shape or form in almost all cultures and religions. We will visit these briefly and then depart on an adventure of some of the lesser known facts of the Catastrophe.

Steve is a Long Island transplant, born originally upstate in Glens Falls, NY and growing up in Poughkeepsie. Steve majored in Theatre Arts at SUNY/Oneonta, where he met Karen with whom he has been married to for over 30 years. (which coincides with the anniversaries of ValFa, making it easy to remember)

Steve and Karen have been collecting Vaillancourt chalkware for over 20 years and have been involved in Collectors Weekend every year except the first. Karen tends usually to stick closely with Judi’s designs and Steve has never done anything close, always incorporating a cat or airplane into the design.

Downsized recently from his job as an Industrial Designer for HVAC, Steve, when not job searching, works at his studio – FanCatStic – located in Huntington Station. His art is primarily focused on cats, seeing cats in everything. Working primarily with found objects he “Brings out the Cat” in things in a folksy, whimsical way. When not creating cats, he is flying antique aircraft or writing children’s picture books.