Visual Art – Winnipeg
Established in 2017, Mad Mike Studio68 is the creative home for the fabrication of functional art and art works by Canadian Michael R. Beaudry. Mike’s appreciation of old things began as soon as he was old enough to walk home alone from elementary school. Along the back lanes and alleys of his working-class Elmwood neighborhood, he would gather the discarded treasures and detritus of everyday city life. Back at home, Mike grew up surrounded by the colorful collections his parents brought back from their California days. These included movie props from Paramount Studios in 1970s Hollywood (where his dad worked) and Spanish-influenced wrought iron, metal sculpture, and art from Mexico. Trained as an industrial mechanic and firefighter, with a love of tinkering and an affinity for robots, Mad Mike’s scrapyard finds include vintage tin and other metal parts and gears from old or broken forklifts, transmissions, sewing machines, automobiles, and farming machinery—to name just a few—each piece carefully selected for its unique shape, style, and potential for movement. Expertly welded together, these once discarded parts are transformed by the artist into striking and original works of functionality, creativity, and endless imagination.