ABOUT MIKE
Born in Morehead City, North Carolina, Mike spent much of his early years out-of-doors in coastal North Carolina and Hawaii before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he currently lives. Mike enrolled in art classes, primarily drawing and printmaking, during his seven years in college obtaining Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in geology. Mike’s work carried him to remote locations in Alaska, British Columbia and the western US. Mike has always been fascinated with the natural world.
While working as a geologist, Mike attended metalsmithing classes at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, where he started making jewelry. His membership with the Creative Metal Arts Guild connected him with fellow crafts people that met annually to collaborate making multifaceted 2D and 3D art pieces. Mike has been attending various collaborations over the last ten years, including ones in Canada and New Zealand and is currently a board member of the Frogwood Artist Collaborative, a 501c(3) organization.
Mike’s current work relies on his metalsmithing skills and his love of rocks and the out-of-doors. His kinetic sculptures consist of moving metal components mounted on stone bases. Mike primarily works with hammered brass and copper disks mounted inside brass, bronze, and stainless-steel rings. Because of the spinning nature of the disks, Mike’s current inspirations include our solar system and animal imagery. Mike currently plans to work on more intricate kinetic sculptures that have secondary movements.
-Mike