About Michael Biel, Sculptor

I am a primarily self-taught sculptor. I have known since an early age that sculpture was something I loved and was excited by. As a graduate student in Classical Archaeology, I excavated on ancient sites and dove upon ancient Greek shipwrecks in the Aegean. Later, I would dive the Great Barrier Reef. Underwater, I have most loved the colors of reef fish, shapes of corals, jellyfish and squid. Learning about deep bio-luminescent creatures and jellies still completely captivates me. Exploring materials, I experimented working with wood and stone, which yielded no clear direction, but contact with crystals and semi-precious stones led me into a deepening appreciation of naturally occurring translucent colors and energies. Upon discovering blown glass over thirty years ago, I saw in it a vibrancy that wanted to be exalted and forms that inspired me to tune into what I could do with that kind of glass. Fortunately, I’ve had a deep sense of being guided and my work continues to grow with each completed piece.

I work with used, flawed, and often, chipped or broken art glass vessels sourced from all over the world - mainly in the form of unsigned, vintage, abstract glass, lead crystal and blown glass vases and bowl shapes from long-shuttered production houses. I re-purpose these and add my own hot-blown elements, carving, cutting, grinding, sandblasting and polishing them (collectively known as cold-working) to fit together. This has resulted in my StarSentients® series and have been the result of re-imagining the old glass forms into new, luminous totems holding evolved spiritual energies. This has been my passion, as I work to create sculptures designed to embody timelessness and universality, while they also kindle hidden memory. I am hopeful that these offer the perceiver fresh, mytho-poetic archetypes to uplift and inspire contemplation, as they arrive shamanically and progressively.

I have worked directly with master glass artist, Jerry Lin-Hsien Kung, at Public Glass San Francisco, and received initial training with Marty Meade, who inspired my earliest love of working with the material. I’ve been helped at intervals by LB Glass Studio (maestro Latchezar Boyadjiev) to refine glass elements. I’ve shown pieces in a gallery setting with works by Matt Szosz, Nate Watson and David Patchen. Although my efforts to be more serious about getting my work out to the larger world has really only just begun in a concerted way.

For more about this work, please see my Artist Statement.