History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="005a45a3.jpg"> <div> <B>M</B><B>y H</B><B>istory</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="006d2b03.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Wells Home"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 1"><U><B>Gallery 1</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 2"><U><B>Gallery 2</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 3"><U><B>Gallery 3</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 4"><U><B>Gallery 4</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 5"><U><B>Gallery 5</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery 6"><U><B>Gallery 6</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Clay"><U><B>Clay Sculptures</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="History"><U><B>History</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact"><U><B>Contact Mike</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1c02fd80.jpg" border=0 width="303" height="216" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>I was born and raised in southeast Tennessee. </B><B> I have had an interest in wood carving for as long as I can remember, but I started making my first really serious attempts at it in 1983. </B><B> I joined the Army in 1981, resulting in 21 years of worldwide travel.  While stationed in Germany I was exposed to great European wood carvers and decided that I was going to give it a very serious effort.  For several years I carved wood spirits and small caricature pieces, but after a while I decided to branch out into more realistic busts and full figure pieces.    </B><B>While in the Army I served four overseas tours, during which time I travelled extensively and saw a wide variety of different carving styles from other countries in Europe and Asia.</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1b7fea50.jpg" border=0 width="254" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   </B><B><IMG SRC="1baeda50.jpg" border=0 width="237" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>I have also been fortunate enough to become friends with some of this country's best wood sculptures and through them I have learned more than I could ever give back.  The talent and skills of people like John Burke, Vic Hood, Larry Rogers, Jeff Phares and Danny Greene cannot be overstated and they have had a tremendous influence in my carving development over the years. </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1d4b5d20.jpg" border=0 width="181" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   <IMG SRC="1bdddd20.jpg" border=0 width="221" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>As time has gone by my style of carving has undergone many changes.  I have tried to continuously evolve and improve in my art, as well as to develope a recognizable style all my own.</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="1be3be20.jpg" border=0 width="315" height="226" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <B>These days I have managed to accumulate a few more gray hairs and a lot more experience.  I am now retired from the Army and have started on a second career.</B></div> <div> <B>I currently live in Grantville, Georgia with my wife Linda and two shetland sheep dogs, Max and Tater. </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1a163ef0.jpg" border=0 width="355" height="239" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>I hope you enjoyed the website and will return often, as I intend to continuously update it in an attempt to keep it current.  It is my sincerest desire to help promote and advance the art of wood carving and to share with others this art form that I have grown to love so much.</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="mailto:mikewells52@earthlink.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mikewells52@earthlink.net"><U><I><B>Mike Wells</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="1bf80f80.jpg" border=0 width="384" height="248" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  </B></I></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>