Michael Hackett has worked with wood for over 20 years, and is mostly self taught as a woodturner. Inspired and encouraged by his Waldorf schooling, he has always had an artistic eye and skilled hands. Over the years Michael has enjoyed pursuing many artistic endeavors, including photography, drawing, and studying wood and stone carving in Bali.
 
While running his own construction company in Maui, he spent time in art galleries and admired the beautiful hats and other turned pieces done in koa, Hawaii’s native hardwood. He was amazed at the realism and details the artists were able to create. That sparked an interest that never went away, and he bought his first lathe in 2015. 
 
Michael sees the potential of individual pieces of wood, and strives to work with the wood to unlock its inner beauty and form. Michael does not always know what a piece will be like until he is fairly far into the process, letting the wood guide him to finding interesting shapes and tapping into the “golden ratio” where our subconscious finds beauty. He focuses on fine finishes that bring out colors and textures of wood grain that are exceptional and unexpected. When possible, having a live edge or natural edge connects his pieces back to the tree. All of this has led to Michael creating pieces that, while totally transformed from the blanks they began as, manage to retain the unique qualities and natural beauty of each type of wood he works with. While he does make bowls, Michael also pushes his work to be more artistic and less functional. He enjoys creating winged pieces, and has created a variety of pieces with captive wings that allow a single piece to have moving parts. As with his koa inspirations, Michael strives to create works that trick the eye and make the viewer wonder how it was done. Michael is a member of BAWA (Bay Area Woodturners Association).