Steven P. Gilson

Gilson, Steven P.

Steven P. Gilson, 60 years, died April 28, 2015 at home in Ithaca, NY, following an almost two-year struggle with lung cancer. Steve was born May 10, 1954 in Syracuse, NY, where he loved to explore the woods and instigate adventures with his brothers and friends. Growing up near the Onondaga reservation, he met an Iriquois mask-maker and began a life-long interest in Indian history and art. Following graduation from Corcoran High School, he had a brief stint in the army and emerged with an honorable discharge in 1973. He travelled widely, working on oil rigs in Texas and Wyoming, as a cowboy in Colorado, and fishing commercially in Alaska; all the while finding time to do his artwork. He continued to study Native American art as inspirations for his work, hand-harvesting wood and gathering other natural materials to incorporate into his artworks. In Oaxaca, Mexico he studied with textile designer Richard Enzer and developed a line of native-inspired designs working with Zapotec weavers. He traveled throughout the northwest coast, studying the maskwork of the Tlingit, Haida, and Bella Coola, and conferred with Tlingit pole carvers. In a remote wilderness area on the Kenai Peninsula, he studied with his uncle, the late Neo-Expressionist painter James Ward Quinlan. His work includes wood sculptures, paintings, oil-painted reliefs and masks. With his first wife, Amy Castle Scott, he had two children, Michael, born in Austin, TX in 1979, and Sarah, born in Syracuse, NY in 1981. He moved to Ithaca in 1992 to be closer to his children. He met Anne Marie Whelan at the Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen. He suggested she write an article for the Ithaca Times about his upcoming mask show at Micawber's. One thing led to another and they began a new life together in 1994. In Ithaca, he has exhibited at Willard Straight, Micawbers, Changes Hair Salon, ArtWalk on the Commons, and the Clinton House. He always loved being in nature, going camping, kayaking, cross-country skiing. Life transformed over the years to less artwork and more gardening, caretaking, and attention to family. He helped raise Anne Marie's daughter, Rachel, and he contributed enormously to the care of Anne Marie's mother and father in their last years, after they moved in next door. In his artist statement for his painting Through the Trees to the Stars, he wrote: "The canopy of trees we gaze through to the stars confines us to a physical world. We yearn for a more spiritual existence. The canopy appears to be confining, but like the birds that fly through it, like the wind that moves the leaves, we needn't be trapped. In physical reality, in nature, we inhabit a nurturing world." We are extremely grateful for the wonderful care from the Syracuse VA and Hospicare of Ithaca during his final illness. He is pre-deceased by his father, Roger P. Gilson. He leaves behind his mother Janet Q. Gilson; partner, Anne Marie Whelan; his children Michael (Abigail Beck) Gilson and Sarah (Thom Kephart) Castle; and grandchildren, Abigail, Madeline and Ethan Gilson; brothers, Roger (Ann) Gilson, Matthew (Valeria) Gilson; Timothy (Missy) Gilson; and sister, Kathleen (Martin) Lynch.Scattering of ashes will take place Sunday at noon at the Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, NY. A celebration will follow at the home of Steven and Anne Marie, 721 West Court Street, Ithaca. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.