Arnold Mikelson

England

In 1947 with the war over and life in Europe beginning a return to normal, Mikelson emigrated to England. Mikelson began working at the 200-year-old Royal Crown Derby Porcelain of England, hired to create three-dimensional sculptures. Mikelson was the company’s Chief Designer. His design leadership, including the famous "Chelsea Birds" now a world favorite, helped revitalize and rebuild Royal Crown to some of its former grandeur. To this day his work, consisting largely of bird sculptures, remains on display in the Royal Crown Derby Museum in England. The "Chelsea Birds", made famous in 18th Century England, can also be seen in Mikelson’s Mind and Matter Gallery in Canada.

Canada

On a 1954 visit overseas, Canadian Senator Donald Cameron, appointed to the government after a significant career in public education with the University of Alberta, encountered Mikelson’s work at an art exhibition in England. Cameron, among his many significant achievements, was head of the Banff School of Fine Arts in the 1930s, and maintained a leadership connection with that facility over the years, acting as its head during his time as a Senator, and keeping that position until 1969. The Banff School was world-famous even in 1954, and Cameron didn’t hesitate when he approached Mikelson and offered him a management and teaching position in the facility that sits in the Tunnel Mountain in Banff National Park.

Mikelson accepted Senator Cameron’s offer and immigrated to Canada, never having laid eyes on the country before. But when he traveled to Banff and saw the School, the finest in Canada with an international reputation, Mikelson turned down the opportunity, as the Banff facility was considered by European standards to be tiny and insignificant. Mikelson had no way of knowing at that time that this was the very best that the comparatively new country of Canada had to offer, and he came, over time, to regret the decision he had made when he walked away from Senator Cameron’s offer.

Unlike Europe, opportunities in the arts in Canada were few and far between, and even a talented, world-class sculptor has to eat. Mikelson went to work as an architectural draftsman, thanks to his early training. He excelled in that profession just as he excelled in his design and execution of his superb carvings and sculptures and developed the reputation of being one of the finest at his job in Alberta. He designed many schools, hospitals, and residential buildings throughout that province and British Columbia.

After 11 years on the Prairies, Mikelson decided to leave Alberta for the gentle west coast mists and showers of British Columbia, and in 1964 settled in the Lower Mainland of B.C.. Shortly thereafter, he returned to his first love, where he designed and built his own gallery, The Mind, and Matter. His ides came from the premise that "the mind creates it … and the matter, which is the hand, illustrates it."

Getting the gallery established required two main ingredients – time and talent, and Mikelson had both. He worked 12 to 16 hours a day virtually every day creating, experimenting, and building. He worked in stone, in metal, and created jewelry in precious metals such as silver and gold. He surrounded himself with exotic woods for conversion into works of art, including satin walnut, Tennessee aromatic cedar, and mahogany, all kiln-dried, all destined for greatness.

Late career

In 1971 the second-largest art college in the United States, the Amy Ryan Fine Arts Center in Abilene, Texas commissioned Mikelson to create three sculptures for its Fine Arts Center. "Roadrunner", a roadrunner attacking a rattlesnake was one of the pieces, depicting the state bird of New Mexico. The "Mockingbirds", the state bird of Texas, along with "Inspiration", a seven-foot angel completed the set. Today these works are on permanent display at the Amy Graves Ryan Center of Fine Arts in Abilene.

Less than a dozen years after arriving in British Columbia, and some 22 years after first setting foot on Canadian soil, Mikelson was again reaching for the top as an artist. Exhibitions featuring his work were held at the British Columbia Provincial Museum, and at locations all across Canada. In 1976 on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, he was invited to participate by the International Carvers Association with 1,500 entrants from all over the world. Mikelson’s work won in 11 out of 15 categories, he was given the Gold and Silver Medals for his accomplishment, and he was invited back the next year as a judge for the International Carvers Exhibition.

A year later England called again, this time in an appeal to American woodcarvers to help raise funds for the maintenance of Southwell Minster, a Cathedral in the heart of rural Nottinghamshire, near Sherwood forest. In the early 1970s, the Church Commissioners passed on the responsibility of maintaining the building to the Cathedral itself. There was minimal money available for this project and fundraising began. Organizers felt that demonstrating wood carving and exhibiting fine sculptures on the grounds of the cathedral, and at nearby castles, would be a great fundraising idea. Mr. Mikelson was one of two Canadians to join the American carvers. The American Woodcarvers Association helped with the organization and the sum of 350,000 Pounds, nearly a million dollars Canadian, was raised.

As the years rolled by, Mikelson’s recognition and reputation continued to rise with the strength and assertiveness of the bird sculptures that he created with such apparent ease. But success is never easy and he routinely worked 12 to 15 hours a day, even after his gallery was well-established and the accolades came in on a daily basis. He maintained that a person only needs four hours of sleep each day, and used the other hours in pursuit of his art.

Today the Mind and Matter Gallery on the grounds of Mikelson's home remains a Mecca for art aficionados from all over the world. His widow Mary continues to maintain it, and to exhibit his work and that of artists from all over the globe, in exactly the way that Mikelson would have wanted.