Michael is originally from the south of England – Bedhampton, Havant and Portsmouth. He studied Ceramics at the Wolverhampton Polytechnic (now Wolverhampton University), and it was during his time there that he became enamored of brick as a medium for his art.  Michael has always enjoyed long walks through both city and country landscapes.  Surrounding the Polytechnic he found many abandoned brick industrial sites on his walks, and a direction for his art was born.  His work is also informed by his early experience working for the Portsmouth Parks Department, where he learned the fundamentals of horticulture and landscape design.  All of these influences are seen in his sculptural work.

He came to the US in 1988 and soon after became an artist in residence at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. He was awarded the American Clay Artist award for a brick chair made during his time at the Clay Studio, then pursued graduate studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, NE.  He has been commissioned, over the past 30 years, to design and install many public and private sculptures. All of his work is non-representational and uses abstract design to create a wide range of functional and semi-functional works of art with hand carved and altered bricks.

Michael built a kiln (seen photos & video) with a grant from the Franz and Virginia Bader Foundation, where he fires his salt glazed bricks.  (There is often room in the kiln if you are a ceramic artist and want to help with the firing.) In his spare time Michael enjoys long walks, amateur archaeology & collecting, gardening, and a good IPA. 

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