Her family were based in Rotorua and she was the youngest of eight children.
"Wānaka, which wasn’t much at the time, I just fell in love with this area, and I just knew I was coming back."
That was 40 years ago and she remembered being attracted to the sparse land, small town and non-busy atmosphere.
Now at 49, it is a different story. Wānaka is bustling, the population has quadrupled to about 18,000, tourism is cranking, and a shoulder season is non-existent.
Not being one for fuss, she lives on a farm on the outskirts of Luggate with a handful of sheep, a cat and three dogs.
Steven has become a fulltime artist and specialises in clay, which she digs up herself on a farm near Omakau for a "box of beer".
"Every clay has got strength and weaknesses. If you can roll it into a sausage and bring it around to meet itself, it is usable clay.
"Wherever there is coal, there is clay, you just look in ditches. Look at what comes out and if it looks like clay, you have to have a roll."
"I had a daughter and you have to pay the bills, and so work becomes the priority."
Steven studied at Elam School of Fine Arts and specialised in sculpture, but realised the city life was not for her. "I woke up one day in Auckland and said, ‘I can’t do this any more’."
At age 21 she decided to come back down south, which she could not stop thinking about since her first trip.
She headed to Fiordland where she was a tour guide and gained her skipper’s license, one of only two women who did in the area, at the time.
"When I started off driving boats there was one other woman who I knew had her ticket. I remember the clients would say "she’s not really the skipper is she".
"I remember seeing one of the guys in the crew slamming the door because he couldn’t figure out the switches, nor did I, but I knew I would figure it out."
The boat she skippered, the Breaksea Girl, was host to those learning about the ecology of the ocean. She was also first mate on Stewart Island and subantarctic expeditions.
"I much preferred to go out and hang out with seals and dolphins than go to the pub."
She still prefers the company of animals and the gasfire kiln where she makes her one-of-a-kind clay creations.
In 2015, she reached her resting spot in Wānaka. She worked on two separate farms, Lake Mackay and one near Queensberry. There, and by accidental luck, she struck clay.
Her truck got stuck on one of the farm lanes and she started digging.
From then on she has been digging up her own clay.
"Nothing comes without work. I would get up and be on the wheel until 7.30am, I would do a day’s farming and come home, be turning the cups until late and I did that for a year, that is busy."
The hard work paid off. When Steven started selling her artwork at the Queenstown markets she would make more in one day than she would in two weeks of farming wages.
It is a dream come true that she is now making and selling her pieces across the district. Steven plans to open a gallery in Luggate where she will sell her work.
"I love the animals, I love making and I love being out in nature."
On August 17, she will be hosting an open studio at her humble little spot near Luggate.
Open studio
When: August 17, 10am
Where: 3364 Luggate Cromwell Rd
Instagram: @espa.nz
