Mike Free
Media: wood, mixed media, carving
I have always liked making things. As a youngster, I collected rocks, made simple things and liked to experiment with my chemistry set, including making an 11-year- old’s version of gunpowder. I studied geology and art, mostly printmaking, in undergraduate and graduate school. During summers working in Alaska as an exploration geologist, I gathered bones, teeth, bear claws and bought fossil walrus ivory and walrus whiskers and made them into necklaces and earrings. I eventually attended jewelry and metalsmithing classes at the Oregon School (now College) of Arts and Crafts. The courses and workshops I attended started me on a wonderful but short career in the late 1980s making “modern primitive” jewelry.
I started working fulltime as a professional geologist in the early 1990s. In the late 2000s, I started attending the Frogwood Collaboration, which has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my creative life. I have had fantastic experiences at all the collaborations, learned new things and best of all, made new friends.
Currently I am working with wood and mixed media; carving, painting carvings, making shop fixtures and cabinets for a newly built shop. I like being exposed to new experiences. Making things, whether utilitarian or art, is at the top of my fun list. I am excited to be attending EMMA.
