1991 - 1996 Cabrillo Community College, Aptos, California - Art Major - classes in Small Scale Metals/Jewelry, Drawing, Calligraphy, Printmaking, Graphic Design, Business, Sculpture, Moldmaking,, and for the last three years, a concentration in Bronze Casting, among other things.
1980 - 1981 San Jose State University, San Jose, California - Multiple Subject Elementary School Teaching Program.
1974 Schnitzerschule, (Woodcarving school) Brienz, Switzerland. Audited classes, private sessions with headmaster, special interest in ornamental woodcarving with some instruction in sculpture.
1974 Middlebury, Vermont - Independent study with focus on joinery, Shaker-style furniture, loom making, and wood finishing.
1972 - 1974 University of California at Santa Cruz - Independent Major - B. A. Degree in "Communication."
1970 - 1972 Cabrillo Community College, Aptos, California. Basic undergraduate courses, major in Early Childhood Education.
1968 - 1969 U. S. Navy - Basic Electricity and Electronics School, San Diego, California. Electronics Technician "A" School, San Francisco, California.
1966 - 1968 Heald's College of Engineering, San Francisco, California. Mechanical Engineering major, Electrical Engineering minor.

Artist Statement
Art has been a love and a passion since childhood, but was not encouraged in the middle class background I was raised in. It lay dormant until 1972 when I started to actively pursue woodcarving under the instruction of Roy Pierce, a retired gunsmith and carver. In 1974 I traveled on a quest through Europe and found the main woodcarving school in Switzerland where I learned all I could, focusing at that time on ornamentation.
The next several years were spent on perfecting techniques and learning related skills. A background of seven years of drafting and electrical theory, and an understanding of three-dimensional curves and enclosed abstract volumes led me into freeform sculpture. Combining the discipline of ornamentation and the freedom of sculpture with the variability of wood was, and continues to be, an interesting challenge. I've been back in school since January of 1991 where I've learned to be comfortable with metal, stone, graphite, ink, oil, and the computer, which gives me a good range to work with.
Professionally, I've been self-employed most of my adult life other than a year with IBM and a short stint with the Navy. All of my art work has been custom ordered and/or commissioned until recently, the result being that I've had very little, other than slides, to show the high quality of my craftsmanship. Reputation by word of mouth worked well in that realm, but isn't much help in the market I'm trying to open up.
Within the last year I've decided to break away from Gallery showing, and try to offer my art directly to the public without the 100% mark-up that most galleries charge. The internet seems like a good way to make the connections between the artist and the art appreciator.
Since I utilize a variety of media, I'm finding a means to express my inner mind, philosophies, perceptions, hopes, dreams, and fantasies, sometimes realistically and sometimes symbolically, but always with thoughtfulness. I believe art is valuable in giving the hope, faith, and beauty we all need to make life an enlightening and worthwhile experience. Art makes the world a better place. As Tom Robbins said, "In the haunted house of life, art is the only stair that doesn't creak."
Text by Michael Dunn

The Infinity Series
The Infinity Series started in my head a very long time ago, but it wasn't until I took a Small Scale Metals/Jewelry class from Lynda Watson Abbot, at Cabrillo College, that I had the opportunity to actually cast the first of this series, a small sculptural model of the symbol for infinity. The next step was to give it a little twist, which I did, and then see where it led me. That path led to the philosophies of eternal life which gave me something to think about for awhile. The last piece in this series is an expression of the mathematical aspects of the Nature, Humanity, and God - Infinity Cubed, and as soon as I get the image together you can see it too. I know that this series has launched me into another realm of sculpture, and that the concept of infinity shows in a lot of what I do, but I believe this series is finished. Share your thoughts on this subject with me, and may be we can figure it all out.

The Figurative Bronze Series
started in 1994 with "Woman in Bronze." followed by "Wizard in Ecstasy." and then by "Rapture," and finally, by "Birdwoman." The commonality in these is the reference to the human body that is found in aspects of each piece. The sensuality of the curves and the surfaces is meant to be a reminder of the true beauty to be found in each other. They are all about a foot or so high, and are meant to be touched and polished occasionally. The ultra smooth surfaces on some of the pieces are a difficult technical detail because the closer it approaches a true mirror the more any inconsistancies show up. The reflections will bend with the surface and any abnormalities will either exaggerate or diminish the bend, causing a visual zag in the reflection. Finishing some of these pieces is somewhat like polishing a lens, and can only be acomplished by a lot of hand labor by a hand that can feel when the curves are right.
If you are interested in seeing a more complete description of any piece, including size, price, etc. just click on either the image or the title

The Bronze Reliefs
featured here are from a series of tests that I was running concerning shrinkage and metal temperatures, warpage, practical thicknesses for casting and a few other things. "Yosemite Falls" is a casting of a woodcarved bas relief and it casts consistantly well. The tiles are another story. Temperature is real critical with them - too hot and they pull apart when they cool and shrink and warp real bad. Too cool and the metal cools before all the areas are filled, leaving holes. The warpage has to be straightened out before they can be finished flat on the raised areas, and the shrinkage has to be such that the final size is a true 8' X 8". Some were cast at Cabrillo College using an investment cast, and the rest at the Bronzeworks using a shell cast. All were done by the lost wax method, and the waxes for the editions were cast in molds made here at Enchanted Creek Studios. All the pieces featured here are hand finished and patinaed by the artist.

Rapture - Figurative Bronze Series
This is the third in the Figurative series of Bronze sculptures conceived in the period from 1993 through 1994. It's been shown in various galleries and exhibitions, mainly in California, and has been well recieved. The inspiration for this piece came from the whole concept of "Rapture" translated to "Wrapture" and the feeling of that concept, including the ascension and enfolding embrace. This was the first project in a Moldmaking course taught by Holt Murray, and was originally modeled in oil clay. A waste mold was made of that, and then a plaster master was cast in that. The mold was destroyed in the process, but the resultant Master was good, and it was finished to a very highly reflective state. A polyurethane mold was made of that, from which the waxes are cast to translate into the Bronze you see above. There is also another Limited Edition cast in Hydrostone of 470 pieces available for $110 each. Bases are not included due to people's personal taste, but are available at $50 for a wooden base, and $100 for a Black Granite base. A Certificate of Authenticity and a Transfer of Original Artworks accompanies each piece.

Yosemite Falls
The wax for this Bronze casting was poured in a mold taken from a bas-relief I carved in Basswood (Linden wood) a few years ago. At that time I was carving a lot of doors that wound up in a lot of places, but never here, and I wanted a carving for myself. My love for Yosemite is old and deep, and so that's the reason I choose it as the subject for a piece I knew would take many hours to accomplish. The depth reads proportionately accurate, and the quality and detailing communicate the feeling of Yosemite. In this medium, it is now suitable for outdoor exhibition as well as interior applications. It can be framed (upon request) and hung on a wall, or mounted directly amongst tile, rock, or cement work. Typical would be mounted in the rock work above a fireplace, as a focal point on or near an entry door, set into a gatepost, etc. If you are interested, please state your final use, and how you want to mount this, if you do. Each piece is individually signed and numbered by Michael Dunn.

Yew
Woodcarving can take many forms, from onamental, such as furniture and door carving, to sculptural and relief carving. Wood has a feel when carving it that lets the carver know what it wants to be, and I've let myself flow with that at times. This is the beginnings of my quest into freeform and non-representational art. Wood is a warm and alive material to work with, and when working with it, the shapes are often reflective of the particular piece of wood, flowing with the grain and around the knots. I found it to be a wonderful medium to work in, but some find it too time consuming. It does take a lot of time to carve most anything since there are no remedies for mistakes, so every gouge-cut has to be right. It takes time to learn the control necessary to do this, and a lot of actual hands-on experience to learn how the wood will work, since each type of wood, and every individual piece, for that matter, works a little differently.

Coming and Going
started out as a piece of speckled white Alabaster that sort of evolved as I carved out the fractured and rough parts, and then once the shape took form, I went ahead and took it to where it wanted to be. The sculpture that resulted was obviously figurative, and the name seemed to describe it pretty well, but, of course, I saw it with my own eyes, and felt it's presence with my own past in mind.
Coming and Going the way of life. Women, people, events, and things come into one's life wide open and wanting to be with you, and when the time has come to part, there is often an arrogance and a casual flip-off as they part, as if all that transpired was nothing very important.
And so this sculpture was six-sided, meaning it had no real base or way tomake it stand up on it's own. It sat around for a year or two while I tried to think of a way to support it and nothing acceptable came to mind. A recent relationship renewed my interest in this piece as it typified the wanting in the beginning, and the lack of feeling or compassion in the departure, and so I picked it up and began to look at it a little differently. Playing around one day, I started applying wax to it, and that's how the supporting stand came about - it just evolved as a continuation of the lines of the stone. To get the two different materials to fit was tricky, as the stone has a set size, yet the bronze shrinks in the casting process, but it all worked out to form a whole that has a certain degree of elegance. I like this piece a lot, and apparently so do others.
A Certificate of Authenticity and a Transfer of Original Artworks accompany this sculpture.

1997 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center - Grand Opening - invitational - bronze sculpture, Birdwoman
1997 City of Santa Cruz - Art on the Wharf - with the Monterey Bay Bronze Guild - bronze sculptures, varied
1997 Santa Cruz Art League - Art Fair with the Monterey Bay Bronze Guild - Bronze and Alabaster sculpture, "Mother and Child"
1996 Santa Cruz Art League - New Works Membership Show (Invitational) - Bronze and Alabaster sculpture, "Mother and Child"
1996 Holiday Art Show - Boulder Creek, Calif. - Fine Arts Exhibition (Invitational) - Bronze and Alabaster sculpture, "Mother and Child"
1996 Santa Cruz Art League - Three Decades - Three Dimensions (Invitational) The Artworks of the students of Holt Murray from the last thirty years of his teaching sculpture and bronze casting - Bronze and Alabaster sculpture, "Mother and Child"
1996 Santa Cruz Art League - Statewide Exhibition (Juried) - Alabaster and Bronze sculpture, "Coming and Going"
1996 Metro Center - Santa Cruz, Calif. - Bronze Sculpture Exhibition: "Birdwoman," and "Life"
1996 Redwood Faire - Ben Lomond, Calif. - Fine Arts Exhibition - Bronze Sculptures: "Wizard in Ecstasy", "Mother and Child", "Coming and Going" and "Hand of the Woman Scorn'd"
1996 Boulder Creek Art and Wine Festival - Fine Arts Exhibition - Bronze sculptures: "Wizard in Ecstasy", "Mother and Child", "Coming and Going" and "Hand of the Woman Scorn'd"
1996 Una Celebrazione alla Compagnia per il Maestro dei Bronzini, Corralitos, Calif. - Sculpture Exhibit - Bronze sculpture, "Infinity Cubed"
1996 Santa Cruz Art League - Members Exhibition - Bronze sculpture, "Infinity Cubed"
1996 Duncan House, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Guest Artist - Bronze Celtic Tiles
1996 Dancing Crane, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Featured Artist - various two-dimensional works
1995 Enchanted Creek Gallery, Sonoma Online (SoCoOL) - Sonoma, Calif. World Wide Web - various works
1995 Duncan House, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Guest Artist - Bronze Celtic Tiles
1995 Dancing Crane, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Featured Artist - various two-dimensional works
1995 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos, Calif. - "Student Art Show" (Juried) - Bronze sculpture, "Infinity Cubed"
1995 San Lorenzo Valley Arts Newsletter, Santa Cruz County, Calif. - Featured Artist - Article and image of "Wizard in Ecstasy" (Bronze sculpture)
1995 Redwood Mountain Faire, Ben Lomond, Calif. - Fine Arts Exhibition, Bronzes "Birdwoman," "Yosemite Falls," and "Infinity Cubed"
1995 Boulder Creek Art and Wine Festival, Boulder Creeek, Calif. - Fine Arts Exhibition, Bronzes, "Birdwoman", "Wizard in Ecstacy" and Photo "Winter Home"
1995 Studio 42Gallery, Los Gatos, Calif. - Limited Edition Bronze Sculptures
1995 Menzies Gallery, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Resident Artist - Various Works
1995 The Pope Gallery, Santa Cruz, Calif. - "Alchemy Exhibition" (Invitational) - Mixed Metals and Sapphire piece, "Yosemite Door"
1995 Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, Calif. - "Regional Exchange Exhibition" (With the Pacific Grove Art Center) - (Invitational) - Alabaster sculpture,1995 "Study in Negative Space"
1995 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos, Calif. - "Student Art Show" (Juried) - Bronze sculpture, "Woman in Bronze"
1995 Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, Calif. - "Uncommon Ground Exhibition" - Bronze sculpture, "Wizard in Ecstasy"
1995 Bookshops, Santa Cruz County, Calif. - Computer Art, Notecards
1994 Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, Calif., - "Points of View Exhibition" - Alabaster sculpture, "Study in Negative Space"
1994 Studio 42 Gallery, Los Gatos, Calif. - Limited Edition Bronze Sculptures
1994 Menzies Gallery, Boulder Creek, Calif. - Resident Artist - various works
1994 Redwood Mountain Faire, Ben Lomond, Calif, - Fine Arts Exhibit (Invitational) - Sculptures
1994 Graphfix, Santa Cruz, Calif. - Fractals, Notecards
1994 White Raven, Felton, Calif. - Computer Art, Notecards
1994 Village Book Cafe, Scotts Valley, Calif. - Computer Art, Notecards
1994 Capitola Book Cafe, Capitola, Calif. - Digital Art, Notecards
1993 Student Art Show, Cabrillo College Gallery - Carved alabaster sculpture, "Elements of Life"
1993 Cabrillo College Student Artists Coalition Show and Sale - various works
1993 Fine Arts Exhibit, Redwood Mountain Faire, Santa Cruz County (invitational), stone sculpture, "Elements of Life," intaglio print, "Quest," carved relief, "Yosemite Falls"
1993 Simply Brilliant Art Gallery, Scotts Valley, Calif. (invitational), silver jewelry and sculpture
1993 Ampersand Gallery, Sandpoint, Idaho - alabaster sculpture, "Elements of Life"
1993 Santa Cruz Art League, Statewide Art Competition (invitational) - intaglio print, "Quest" selected for exhibition
1993 Bay Photo Lab,, Aptos, Calif. (solo invitational), photography
1993 Reicke's Bayside Gallery, Bigfork, Montana - redwood sculptures
1993 Fire & Ice Fine Arts Gallery, Scotts Valley, Calif. - Alabaster Sculpture, "Study in Negative Space"
1993 Cabrillo Gallery, Student Art Show, Cabrillo College, Aptos, Calif. (invitational), Alabaster Sculpture, "Study in Negative Space", and plaster master sculpture "Rapture"
1993 Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, Calif., Points of View Exhibition, Alabaster Sculpture, "Study in Negative Space"
1992 Student Art Show, Cabrillo College Gallery - Combination cast silver and fabricated base metals piece with pave' set sapphire, "Yosemite Door" Reflected self-portrait graphite drawing selected for same show
1992 New Beginnings Fine Arts Gallery, Placerville, California - silver and mixed metal jewelry
1991 Student Art Show, Cabrillo College Gallery - fabricated bronze piece, "Crossed Heart"
1991 Elkin's Lodge, Priest Lake, Idaho - jewelry boxes
1991 Las Cumbres, Los Gatos, California - Christmas Cultural Event, various artworks
1975 Cooper House Gallery, Santa Cruz, California - large carved round table

1997 Internet Web Site Creation - San Lorenzo Valley Cultural Committee - Boulder Creek, CA
1997 Internet Web Site Creation - Monterey Bay Bronze Guild - Santa Cruz, CA
1997 Internet Web Page Creation - Helené's International Oriental Dance School - Boulder Creek, CA
1974 - 1993 Various works, mostly for private parties, small businesses, and lodges, the majority being wood related
1993 Cremation urn, carved cherry wood, dogwood motif, for Michele Stauub
1993 Silver and sapphire ring, aum motif, for Steve Robertson
1992 Large carved and inlayed oak round table, Celtic motif, for Richard Bledsoe
1992 Cremation urn, carved cherry wood, personalized for Robert Park
1992 Silver ring made to fit raw fire opal for Teresa Landino
1982 - 1992 Built custom homes for owner-dwellers, several single-handedly, in the $400,000+ range. Also did repairs and additions.
1975 - 1985 Master carver for Art Quinn Hardwood Doors, Inc. of Fiddletown, California. Designed and carved many custom raised paneled hardwood doors, primarily in oak.
1975 - 1976 Carved interior of home for Robert Croft, Ben Lomond, California.
1975 Replicated antique furniture and antique car parts for Robert Sohl, restorer of antique cars in Bonny Doon, California
1975 Partners in "Iron Mountain Furniture". Manufactured and carved large tables, chairs, bed frames, etc.
1974 Interior carvings for Marie-Ecole in Murbach, France, a building constructed in 1006.

Valley Arts Newsletter - San Lorenzo Valley - July 1996 - "Wizard in Ecstasy" featured on front page.
Valley Arts Newsletter - San Lorenzo Valley - Fall 1995 - Featured artist, picture of "Wizard in Ecstasy"
Valley Press - San Lorenzo Valley - September 1993 - Intaglio print, "Quest" featured in article about SLV artists.
Scotts Valley Banner - Scotts Valley, Calif. - September 1993 - Intaglio print, "Quest" featured in article about SLV artists.
Valley Press - San Lorenzo Valley - June 1993 - Alabaster sculpture, "Elements of Life" featured in article about SLV artists.

1994 Merit Award, "Points of View Exhibition" - Santa Cruz Art League
1993 Norman J. Shields Memorial Award, Cabrillo College Art Department
1992 Donna Christine Fichera Memorial Scholarship, Cabrillo College Art Department

Santa Cruz Art League - Santa Cruz, CA - Member and Exhibitor
San Lorenzo Cultural Committee of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County (SLVCC) - Boulder Creek, CA - Member and Exhibitor
Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center - Boulder Creek, CA - A Nonprofit Corporation - Initiator and Board Member
Monterey Bay Bronze Guild - Santa Cruz CA - A Nonprofit Corporation - Coordinator (Two Terms,) Initiator and Board Member

mdunn@enchantedcreek.com