Mike’s formal education includes courses in art, biology and anatomy with a major in biology at Southern Illinois University. His informal education includes 20 years on the Big Piney River located in the Mark Twain National Forest of the Missouri Ozarks, where he and his wife owned a canoeing, fishing and hunting float/camp.
During the time he spent on the river and the surrounding woods, he gained an appreciation for the wildlife and habitat he now brings to life in his carvings. Beginning in 1986, Mike spent the next 9 years carving and competing in art shows with wildlife carvings from the Missouri Ozarks.
However, his thoughts kept going back to the bird he had spent so much time enticing in the woods, the wild turkey. His first turkey carving, a bust of an "old gobbler", of tupelo wood, was judged "Best of Show"and "Judges Choice" at the 1995 Grand National Wild Turkey Carving and Sculpturing Championship in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1999 he again won "Best of Show" and "Judges Choice" at the Grand Nationals while competing with over 100 entries from across the Nation.
Mike's wildlife carvings have won numerous first place awards at the International Wood Carvers Congress, National Wood Carvers Showcase, Grand National Wild Turkey Carving and Sculpturing Championships, and numerous other competitions.
Mike is a signature member of the Missouri Wildlife Artists Society. His wild turkey carvings are a part of an exclusive and limited number of collections. Examples of his work are on his web site at:
http://www.mckelveywildlifeart.com/
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