Michael Gloor Design
American
While studying to be a scientist in college I took a clay studio class and from that moment on matter and energy became form, texture, color and design. I transferred to the Kansas City Art Institute ceramics department, receiving a BFA. Subsequently moved to Rhode Island where I built a studio and opened a ceramics shop in Newport. I eventually found myself building with wood, starting with house construction, then stair and boat work and finally custom furniture.
Every artist enters into a relationship with his or her material and for me the creative process is a dialogue, a stimulating conversation, in which you are always learning something new. As you hone your technique you improve as a listener and you are challenged to give voice to the design. The finished piece also creates a bond – a spiritual connection - between the person who uses it and the artist who has inscribed themselves into the piece. It draws us back to the idea of the interconnectedness of all things. Art is a great part of what makes us human.
I take much of my inspiration from the past, and admire the clean lines of Shaker furniture and the simplicity and forms of Japanese ceramics. In furniture design, as in clay work, small variations in line, volume and proportion can make all the difference. Each of my pieces is unique and my style is ever-evolving. I play with images and ideas in my head and as I build, the design takes shape and I don’t always know where it will go until I’m done. Even when I do a piece in the same series, it’s not identical; I change it as I go, even if it’s only small details.
I have exhibited at the Providence Fine Furniture Show and periodically at galleries and shows in the New England area. My work has been featured on the HGTV television series Modern Masters and pieces have appeared in a number of publications including Home Furniture Magazine, Newport Life, Rhode Island Monthly (where I was named one of ten RI artists to collect), in three volumes of Lark Books “500” Series and Taunton Press’s Custom Furniture Source Book. My pieces are in private collections both in the United States and abroad.
