Mike’s journey of discovery into the world of ceramics started in the early 1990’s.  From his first intro class in clay, Mike was hooked.  Two years later he moved to San Luis Obispo, CA to study Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly.  It was fortuitous that the ceramic studio was in the same building as most of his classes, and he would often show up to afternoon landscape classes covered with smears of clay.

After graduating in 1996, Mike moved up to Sonoma County with his lovely new wife Cara, making a home in Petaluma, where they have lived ever since.  Within a few years he had outfitted a room of their house as a home studio, and when time allowed Mike would explore ideas and hone his skills in ceramics.

After working full-time for 30 years at an engineering firm, Mike decided it was time to stop working so hard and restore his work-life balance, which left more time for him to go on hikes with Cara, toil in the garden, go backpacking with friends, and spend more time working with clay.