Mike Medow was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1944. Since Medow began wood sculpting in 1967, it has been not only a love and central concern of his life, but also a growing and maturing process. His work has taken several drastic turns since Medow began. Each change has revealed his naturally intuitive understanding of the really important concerns of sculpture.

When Medow moved out west from Chicago in 1979 he was awestruck by the magnificent land forms and now those forms are echoed in the full and robust figures. The human forms reflect the rock formations, which he calls "figurescapes". This duality he creates is of course the most ancient content in all of art...the earth mother. This self-taught artist deals with symmetries and shifting centers as if he had written a master thesis on that subject. From an innate sensitivity and intuition come the subtleties within Medow's compositions.

Mike Medow is a very serious sculptor...when asked, he says a worthwhile work of art must have true holding and staying power. It should be something of which one will not tire. Truly important art will summon the viewer back repeatedly and always offer new intrigue and interest on several different levels.

Medow is a carver. He has worked with many varieties of woods. When he moved to Sedona in 1987, he discovered an indigenous tree to carve, the large alligator juniper from Northern Arizona. The fact that Medow is a carver is quite significant, in that sculpture is as much a tactual art form as it is a visual form. The carver, more than any other sculptor, uses his hands and chisel as a sense organ while creating his work. Medow uses very few power tools. He is constantly touching and feeling the sculpture's surface to decide how and where to proceed. He consequently learned that touch is of extreme importance in perceiving and understanding his art. As a result, it will always be the carver who encourages the viewer to touch.