LOCALadk Magazine

Fall 2014 21 LOCALadk Even when his arrangements are fanciful – as in the almost dreamlike tableau of fish and water weeds and dragonflies in the scene he was working on when I arrived, where the distinction between water and air is not clear – he is true to facts of the natural world. He will not put, for example, baby loons into the same scene with a buck with full antlers, even if a client asks for it. Those two do not coexist at the same time in nature, and nor will will they in his renderings. Mike grew up in Utica. He comes from a large family, one dotted with artists. As a child he came to the Adirondacks often, and as soon as he could live independently he moved here. "I have to live where it's wild," he said. Mike became a logger. He was good at it, but nearly twenty years ago felt a powerful calling: he felt it was time to focus on his art. It was not a convenient time for such an urging. He had a brand new baby (his daughter, now a sophomore at Clarkson University), a mortgage, and even a new truck to pay off. But, he took the plunge and started carving. For some months times were tight. But eventually he was paid a visit by the owners of the Lake Placid Lodge, which, then as now, showcases the work of local artisans. The piece that caught their eye was one that Mike had made in honor of his grandfather, who had also carved wood. It was a scene of deer standing at the edge of a quiet lake, with mountains rising in the background. They bought it, hung it in the Lodge, and after that Mike started getting commissions. The railing of oak branches (carved from cherry and butternut, actually) was for a couple who had recently renovated an old school house into a home. Besides the railing, their home will include many of Mike's carved animals: squirrels and chipmunks, some songbirds, bear cubs, and one charming porcupine. Mike is also known for the beautiful wooden bowls that he carves out of burls. He has clients who have become collectors – he has sent them as far as Australia. Sometimes Mike works with Michelle Gamon. He carves, she paints. I saw a fish they had collaborated on, and the result was breathtaking: richly colored, and realistic in every detail. But mostly, Mike works alone. What he does is very labor intensive. He uses chisels like paint brushes. Few people have the patience for this sort of work, he said. "But for me, it's become my way of life. When things are going well – when my tools are sharp, and I'm in my zone – it's very peaceful." But clearly it takes more than patience to create these pieces. Mike is a skilled craftsmen, but he's also an extraordinary artist. He looks at a raw piece of wood and sees in it what he wants to carve. He does very little pre-sketching, though he often looks at photographs or a real model (as he did for the oak leaves), in order to get details correct. And then many, many hours later – there it is, what he saw in his head, rendered in a way that is both faithfully accurate to what he's depicted, and also true to the flow and character of the wood it came from. Mike's work is currently being featured at View, in Old Forge. The show is called Freshly Hewn, and will run from August 16 until October 6. The Rustic Furniture Fair, where you can see the work of Jay Dawson and Steve Bowers, is at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake on Saturday and Sunday, September 13th and 14th.

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