1939, Omaha, Nebraska –
In 1988 at the age of 49, Dave Stewart, a former plumber with no interest in art whatsoever, was given janitorial duties in the Art Department at Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska. He completed an assignment written on a classroom chalkboard and was encouraged by art faculty pursue his newly found talent. Stewart enrolled in art classes at Hastings with his studies centering around drawing, painting and printmaking. Efforts into three-dimensional assemblages were largely self-taught. Stewart admits to being strongly influenced by the masters of assemblage, Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp.