Spotlight success: Artist uses painting and pottery as outlet
Artist Steve Belovich is transforming a portion of his home into a first-floor art studio.
Steve Belovich talks about the designs behind his pottery at his home in Denbo.
It is 1990, and Steve Belovich can’t recall the past three years of his life.
Belovich, of Denbo, was living in Las Vegas and working construction jobs after completing a stint in the U.S. Air Force, and had turned to alcohol to deal with depression and anxiety.
Belovich decided to return to Washington County, and the choice transformed his life.
Now a potter and an artist, he enrolled at California University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in art, and later a Master of Arts from West Virginia University,
“When I got back from Vegas, there was nowhere to go but up,” said Belovich, 53. “Without art, I never would have made it.”
The interior of Belovich’s home is filled with pottery and paintings he’s produced in recent years, and his backyard includes two large gardens, where he grows raspberries, blackberries, herbs, tomatoes and seven varieties of peppers. (“I make a really good salsa,” he said.)
He owns two kilns, one electric and one wood, and he is converting a portion of his house into a first-floor art studio.
He worked several jobs over the years – carpenter, handyman, plumber, electrician and salesman, among them – to make money to work on his pottery and art.
Belovich is taking a leap of faith: He recently quit his job as a truck driver and plans to pursue his artwork full time.
“I’m ready for this. I’ve saved up for it, and I’m going to go for it. It’s time,” said Belovich. “Making a living (in those occupations) has provided me with a wide variety of skills and experience that I bring to the physical and technical demands of working with clay.”
For as long as he can remember, Belovich has loved painting.
“I’ve been drawing or painting since I was 3 or 4 years old,” he said. “My mother’s friend gave me a color wheel before I went to kindergarten, and I loved turning the wheel to see what happened when I matched colors.”
Belovich believes his anxiety and depression have been around as long as his love for art has.
His parents were divorced, and Belovich recalls his mother “working constantly, always trying to meet the bills.”
When he turned 14, Belovich took on a paper route and worked at Winky’s in Washington, where he lived with his mother, to help with finances. He also managed to play the tuba in the marching band.
He still loves listening to music, but art is his passion.
Belovich said he attended Alcoholic Anonymous meetings several years ago, but he says channeling his energy into painting and pottery helps him to stay in control, focus on the present and express himself.
He explained the philosophy behind a vase he fashioned that included exposed stone.
”There are times that people do something that mars your mind or scars you physically in some way, and you carry it with you your whole life,” he said. “The more people keep on digging at you, at some point in your life, they get down to stone.”
Belovich has entered some of his work in the Eighth annual AMI Inc. Poetry and Fine Art Show, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 12 in the George Washington Hotel in Washington.
Submissions to the show are created by Washington County residents 15 years of age or older who have a previous or current history of mental illness and/or a co-occurring substance abuse disorder.
Categories include poetry, photography, sculpture and 2D fine art. The event is sponsored by Washington County Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Chambers Insurance Agency, Curtis Pharmacy, Inner Artist Studio, Kaleidoscope II and Rhythm City Dance.
Belovich also plans to display and sell his work at the National Road Festival in May.
Belovich said art is powerful, and encourages those battling mental health diagnoses and drug and alcohol addiction to try art as a creative outlet.
“If someone has the inkling that they want to try artwork, or to do anything creative, they just need to dive right into it. Let it engulf them,” said Belovich. “Let it surround them. It’s powerful, and it can have a profound impact on their lives.”