Official Linn Grove, IA Website
Zip Code: 51033
Located in NW Iowa on the Little Sioux River
Last updated 05/27/2008 08:08 PM
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Rocking M Furniture and Pottery Company
Members of the Cedar Ridge Artisan's Guild
Will be displaying at the 10/14 and 10/15 2006 Northwest Iowa Artisans Road Trip
Link to transcript of radio interview with Steve and examples of his work.
Beth and Steve are involved in the Annual Artisan's Road Trip
Linn Grove furniture maker, Steve Cathcart, strips the bark from native cedar trees to make
“stick chairs.”
Rocking M Furniture & Pottery
Steve & Beth Cathcart
4254 55th Ave
Linn Grove IA 51033
"Building fine furnishings with a rustic western flavor."
By appointment only: 712 296-3790 or 712 299-5248
“I’m working on chairs for display along with other pieces at the Linn Grove Landing,” explains Steve Cathcart. “I’ve also made some natural animal rub mirrors, picture frames and have plans for a rustic upholstered Morris style chair.
“Each stick chair takes about 20 small cedar trees to get the various sizes needed for a finished chair,” says Steve. “My furniture is Western/Rustic style – I like to use horn, old leather and I’m starting to carve Western detail into my work.”
Local artisans are working together to form The Cedar Ridge Artisan Guild. Steve says, “It is a way to network with others and market our hand-crafted products.”
"Along with making furniture, Beth and I raise black baldy steer calves and replacement heifers. These crossbred calves are from the Morris family purebred Herefords herds off the Lewis Morris Jr. and his father, Lewis Morris Sr. farms. Originating blood lines date back around the 187O’s – brought with John and Elizabeth (Davis) Morris, Linn Grove pioneers, as they settled here from Wisconsin."
Rocking M is a resource for pieces of original design
“My dad would say, we’d gone modern,” says Beth Morris Cathcart.
“Crossing our Hereford cows with a Angus bull has produced a vigorous growing, easy keeping calf.”
“Our products are handmade collaborations between nature and design found in objects of furniture and ceramics.”
Steve Cathcart - Furniture
I often select native cedar and weathered wood from the Linn Grove area to produce stick chairs, mirrors, frames, beds, tables, and large functional pieces.
Using sculptural techniques, pieces are embellished with carving, rawhide, horn, beads and leather. Collaborations include tile, metalwork, leather and scenic painting. Beth’s hand rubbed finishes and artistic application of stain and color enhance what nature presents and intuition inspires.
Inspiration can come from anything… a particular branch on a tree that wants to become something. It could be a chair or a bed. “It just becomes.”
Beth Cathcart - Pottery
“What starts out to be one thing often ends up becoming another.”
After spending the many years designing communication print concepts. I easily fall into discovery, enjoying clay’s plasticity – creating, adding to and building onto what is presented.
I create one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces for the home or garden and produce both hand built and wheel thrown functional pottery.
The creative process extends beyond the studio as art buyers express their creativity in how they display or use my pieces. It gives me great pleasure to know my pieces become part of someone’s daily environment.