Steven Gerard Brixner

Steven was born in Bellingham, WA to Raymond and Patricia Brixner, the second child with three sisters. His father’s Navy career took the family to Japan twice during the 1950’s, where they immersed themselves in the local culture. Returning to the US in 1960, the family settled in San Diego where Steven graduated from Helix High School in La Mesa. He attended San Diego State College, graduating in 1971 with a degree in art. He continued his education at SDSU, completing his Master’s Degree in metalsmithing in 1975. He opened a small jewelry studio, “The Bijou,” in Ocean Beach. After about a year an opportunity presented itself for him to teach metalsmithing and jewelry design at the Penland School of Crafts near Asheville, NC in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Steven spent two years teaching students from around the world. In 1978 he moved to Charlotte, NC where he worked in a shop repairing and doing artistic work on custom jewelry. He returned to San Diego in 1980, worked at various jewelers and taught jewelry making at adult education classes in Santee. During this time he perfected his craft and with the support of family and friends was able to work as a self-employed jewelry designer and metalsmith. He continued to build his skill and professional reputation in the field for the next 35 years. Over the years his work has been exhibited in jewelry shows coast to coast and has been featured in traveling exhibits internationally. He has had a long association with Taboo Contemporary Jewelry Studio in the Mission Hills area of San Diego, as well as Freehand Gallery in Los Angeles, and others across the country. His work can be viewed at www.brixnerdesign.com. (Online ordering is no longer available.) Also, as Steven had designed and built his own website, he began to get requests to design websites for other artists, galleries and museums. He continued to expand his clientele with his exceptional website design skills. Steven loved to cook for his friends and family and also loved to travel, going on several cruises and trips with his circle of friends. He was a generous, loving and kind man who gave of himself in many ways. He had been a volunteer with the AIDS Foundation, donating his time, as well as his jewelry, to the organization’s fundraising efforts. Steven was diagnosed with leukemia in January of 2016. He received a stem cell transplant, but suffered complications from graft vs. host disease and passed away on October 22. He is survived by his mother, Patricia Brixner, his sisters Karen Brixner, Leslie Cripps and Kristine Hayes, eight nieces and nephews and seven great-nieces and nephews. He was loved and will be missed by all who knew him.