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The Early Years...
Ok, so this page has very little to do with pottery itself but makes a connection to what I am doing now in a roundabout sort of way and is a lot of fun, so read on! And yes, that is my family of origin in all of the above pictures, and I am in each of the photos too if you can figure out which one is me...
The family I grew up in was a bit crazy (like most families) but full of strong personalities with wonderfully creative, adventurous, passionate, innovative energy. My father worked for himself so we were able to take many camping trips, including a two month tent camping trip through France, England, and Switzerland when I was twelve years old, which greatly expanded my view of the world! My mom was the "cultural/art director" on our trip, as she always was at home, making sure we got to see the great museums, chateaus, gardens, and other historically and artistically rich sites and wonders of nature in each country.
Back home, we worked hard to get good grades in school and strived for excellence in all that we did. We also played hard, which was easy to do in our home, as it was like a mini recreation center -- we had a trampoline in our backyard (highly unusual in the 60's and 70's!), learned how to do flips and other acrobatics with coaching from our dad, zoomed around on our mini bikes around the neighborhood, and for special events like our birthdays, had cotton candy and snow cone machines in our backyard that our parents rented for the occasion. I even did some "clowning" around...
We also had a photography darkroom in our basement, which along with my father's Leica camera and other photography equipment, kept me happy for many summers. Additionally, our basement housed a fully equipped wood shop where we used the lathe, band saw, and other fun power tools to make wood sculptures and functional items like lamps and bowls. One of my three older brothers even apprenticed with a violin maker and hand made violins for several years, which was a highly detailed, precise, and fascinating process to watch.
And of course, our house was always filled with musical instruments (flutes, violins, violas, guitars, recorders, trumpets, saxophones, a piano, etc.) many of which my mom taught us to how to play, and we were practically our own choir. We regularly sang as a group in four part harmony, mostly just for fun, but sometimes also at retirement homes to bring a little music into the lives of the residents there, with my mom leading our musical efforts. My dad also loved music, frequently taking us to the Fisher Theatre in Detroit to see musical performances such as "The Mikado", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Madame Butterfly", "HMS Pinafore", etc.
And then there were the myriad of animals that lived with us -- cats, dogs, rabbits, gerbils, parakeets, salamanders, and even a small black bat that my brothers brought home once (Igor) until he got loose in the house when no one but my mom and I were home, but that's another story. Suffice it to say that life in the Mickelson home was quite the adventure!
Click here to read more about Dorie's Life Adventures!