User:Mskoehler

MICHAEL GARMAN, American Sculptor

Michael Charles Garman (1938 - present) was born in central Texas, the son of an adventurous early flying man. As a child, Michael started molding figures by transforming his father's pipe cleaners into characters he could play with. As a teenager, Michael traveled Los Angeles where he briefly apprenticed in photography.

He then embarked on a two-week photographic journey through Mexico with only $35.00 in his pocket. When his money ran out, Michael refused to leave. He began creating sculpture "sketches" of local people which he would sell door to door in the German and English neighborhoods of different Central and South American cities. Hitchkiking through thirteen different countries, Michael Garman made his way to Santiago, Chile where he enrolled in a local art school and honed his craft. Returning to the United States, he devoted his energy full-time to his first love, sculpture.

Michael has a deep rooted belief that art should be available to everyone. “Art for the People,” he calls it. Because of this ideal, he has worked not just to create these expressive characters, but also to perfect a method of reproduction that makes his artwork affordable. Michael makes the original out of microcrystalline wax, also called sculptor’s wax. From there a latex rubber mold is made and the pieces are cast out of either Hydrocal, (a high density casting cement) or a special compound blend of polyurethane resin and marble dust.

These figures are not portraits, but are composite sketches of bits and pieces of humanity that Michael has encountered along his travels. The same is true of the wall scenes. The bay window or sidewalks in these scenes may have come from San Francisco, Philadelphia, or any one of a thousand places that Michael has been through. The primary material used in making the wall scenes is polyurethane foam, a cellular plastic known for its durability and lightness. This factor enables the scenes to be easily put up for display as well as taken down to transport. All of the “props”, like Coke bottles, beer cans and ashtrays are also made by Michael Garman Productions.

Michael’s sculptures and cityscapes are collected and displayed by businesses and individuals throughout the world. Included among these individuals are former Presidents Bush and Reagan, Betty Ford, Rosalyn Carter, James Caan, Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds, John Elway, and Colin Powell. His figures are frequently given as a piece of “Americana” to foreign dignitaries and heads of state.

Source: Michael Garman Galleries. 2418 W. Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904