Michael Wright is hesitant to call himself an artist.
“I don’t really use the term artist as much for me,” Wright said. “For me, I say more like illustrator or wildlife illustrator. I don’t know that there’s anything terribly creative about what I do. I’m a good draftsman, and also I can sculpt. But, I don’t try to set up scenes in which there’s more going on than just the animal.”
The retired Miami University biology professor is turning his passion for nature into something tangible, regardless of the semantics of labels.
Wright, who has loved both animals and drawing since he was a child, began teaching at Miami after receiving his master’s degree in zoology from the university. Simultaneously, he pitched in at both the Hefner Museum of Natural History and Hueston Woods state park.
While Wright had opportunities to utilize his artistic skills professionally, such as designing brochures for Hueston Woods or providing illustrations for a two-part series of books cataloguing the reptiles of Ohio, he mostly kept his work personal and private.
It wasn’t until around 15 years ago that he would find the medium he primarily works in today.
“I ran into someone at a craft fair who was producing these very whimsical frogs,” Wright said. “She told me it was a clay that is polymer based, so it’s got some resins in it and you can fire it or cook it in a home oven. So I grabbed some of that clay and started playing.”
Initially, Wright, who still lives in Oxford, wasn’t serious about pursuing this type of modeling full-time. Walking into his third-floor studio at the Oxford Community Arts Center now, however, shows that plans clearly changed.
The cozy room is filled with dozens of pieces, mostly realistic clay models of Wright’s favorite animals. They encompass a wide variety of species, centering primarily on the wildlife of Ohio that Wright’s work has made him so knowledgeable about.
“I have no rhyme or reason for why I’ve done most of these specifically, except some of them have been kind of important to me,” Wright said. “Everything else has been a little bit random. I’ll just sit down one day and say, ‘I wonder if I can do this one.’”
His free-spirited approach has resulted in an eclectic mix of clay creatures; birds, fish, rodents and reptiles all share space on his shelves. Some, like his take on the bluegill or hellbender, are so lifelike that they instigate a double-take.
Wright’s work also dabbles in nostalgia. One shelf is devoted to his take on classic characters from his favorite media, including Calvin and Hobbes, Wallace and Gromit, Statler and Waldorf from “The Muppets” and the monsters from “Where the Wild Things Are,” his favorite children’s book.
Wright has been somewhat bearish toward selling his art, despite his consistent output.
“When I started sculpting, I already was making enough money that I didn’t have to depend on selling artwork,” Wright said. “And the truth is, when I first started I couldn’t bear to sell anything. I guess I thought at the time [that] if I sell them to somebody, I’ll never see them again.”
Wright has started selling some pieces to close friends and has opened up commissions for work in more recent years. He has also begun doing larger pieces in conjunction with this new approach, including life-size versions of a snapping turtle and a white-tailed deer fawn.
Wright’s close proximity to these animals has made translating their features into a natural process, sometimes unconsciously so.
“The white-tailed deer fawn I’m working on, I found myself not even looking at the source material on the internet so much,” Wright said. “It’s almost like my fingers knew where to go and what looked right and what didn’t. And I think that’s just having worked with them so extensively in the past and trying to observe them out in the wild.”
This attention to detail and clear connection to his source material has set Wright’s work apart and caught the attention of many people who have visited his studio.
One such person is Dan Gladish, program coordinator for Audubon Miami Valley, Butler and Preble County’s local chapter of the National Audubon Society.
“He was recommended to me by one of our board members, and I had a vague recollection of having met him,” Gladish said. “I’m a retired Miami biologist, and so is he. So I said, ‘Oh yeah, I should know that guy.’ And then I went over to his office studio at the Oxford Community Arts Center.”
Gladish said he recruited Wright to be part of a series of public meetings featuring people associated with nature in different ways, particularly focused on conservation.
Wright, whose program titled “Adventures of a Natural History Artist” will be 7:30 p.m. March 10 at Oxford’s LCNB, was a natural fit given his experiences.
“He’s gonna tell about some of his adventures. He’s volunteered and worked for a long time at Hueston Woods Nature Center, he’s had some interactions with some injured raptors,” Gladish said. “So that’s going to be kind of interesting to hear what he has to say.”
Given his vast experience and knowledge, it’s clear Wright does have a lot to say. In many cases, he chooses to do so through his art.
“I don’t think I have any wisdom to impart or any major important life lessons that I learned. It’s just that I probably can tell more about working with wild animals than most people would be able to,” Wright said. “These pieces I produce are all animals, for the most part … they do have a story connected with a lot of them.”
