M I C H A E L   S I M M O N S :   R A K U   A R T I S T

Michael Simmons sculptural endeavor in clay hand building was pre-dated by influences in his surroundings while he was growing up in and around two major East Coast Metropolitan cities. These two cities not only exhibited sculptural forms in their existing buildings but also in their aesthetically sculpted art by artists. These two major cities were Washington, D.C., where he lived initially for twenty three years, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he moved to in the 1970's to attend West Chester State College. Two of his West Chester State University Professors, Ron Defino and John Davis, got him involved concretely and conceptually in creating stone and wood sculptures, as well as sculptural images on canvas. 

Not until 1991, after moving back to the Portland area, and receiving the Art Teacher position at Buckman Arts Focus, K-5, did he know he was going to get very interested in Raku Pottery. Not until he started working with Master salt glaze potter, High School Art Teacher and story teller, Daniel Stevens, and Raku artist, Catherine Watson, did he become interested in the Raku pottery process. Michael Simmons  began to experiment with his own Raku pottery while helping Raku glaze and fire with Daniel and Catherine. This process took six or seven arduous years of collaboration, corrections, and more experiments with learning new glazes and new ways to create clay sculptures that would be sellable and collectable.

Michael Simmons is currently living in Portland, Oregon. He teaches art at Portland State University and Buckman elementary, while he continues exploring sculpture, materials, and process. His work has been shown and collected nationally and internationally.