Michael Beaster 

Deciding on a career change at age thirty-two, and armed with both a grant and a scholarship, I enrolled at MATC, a vocational school in Madison, WI. I completed a course in cabinet and furniture making.

Not wanting to produce the same kinds of furniture as other woodworkers were creating, I began experimenting. While building an art deco dresser, I incorporated lights inside each drawer, and inserted hand-blown glass balls above the drawers. This allowed light to shine through the balls as well as illuminate the drawer when opened. This was my first step down the road of building functional art furniture. I had learned the rules of woodworking, and then proceeded to break the rules.

I enjoy creating unusual combinations of different woods in most of my pieces. Some designs incorporate as many as seventeen types of wood. I also enjoy expanding boundaries with unusual shapes, and the use of neon.

I see not just function in my furniture; I also want people to be entertained by the items I make. I believe furniture should create a feeling of pleasure and bring a smile. Purchasers of my more whimsical pieces have told me they imagine my furniture coming alive and dancing at night while everyone’s asleep.

I have been a Door County artist for twenty-three years. During my career my furniture bas been shown in Wisconsin galleries, as well as galleries in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.