Mike Campbell is one of those guys who retired, and then got seriously busy. “It’s funny,” he said. “I’m busier now than I ever was.”
Lots of guys dream of fishing their way through retirement. Michael Campbell’s a little too proactive to sit in a boat and wait for a fish to bite. When Campbell sets out to land a lunker, he knows there will be a trophy on the wall when he’s done. Campbell carves his trophies, both freshwater and salt, from blocks of Florida cypress. He’s been doing it for eight years, and he’s gotten good at it. He currently has a few of his pieces on display at the Creative Center in Isle. “I think it’s great what Angie (Moen) is doing there,” Campbell said. “Giving artists a place to show their work.”
Campbell’s “mounts” can easily be mistaken for the work of a taxidermist. They are minutely detailed, and the scales shine like they are still in the water. That’s quite a feat given Campbell’s self-imposed restrictions. “I don’t paint any of my fish,” he said. “I only use stain so the grain of the wood can come through.”
For Campbell, woodworking is rewarding, and therapeutic. Campbell knows the importance of relieving stress. He has a master’s degree in psychology, and he worked 30 years teaching classes for the Department of Defense.
He taught in the prison system as well, and worked as a elementary school guidance counselor. “Oh, and I work at my brother Randy’s
garage, too,” he said.
Campbell used to teach stress reduction classes, and he knows stress can be a killer. Staying busy can help relieve stress, as long as you’re not doing something you hate. “If you don’t like what you’re doing, do something else,” he said.
Campbell loves every step of his creative process. The act of finding the right piece of wood, or rock, for a project is a task akin to treasure hunting for Campbell. He searches the woods and roadways during his travels, collecting lava rocks, manzanita root and driftwood wherever he finds it. “I’m always looking for wood,” he said. “I see a nice piece of driftwood or something and I throw it in my trunk.”
While Campbell’s backdrops and underwater scenes incorporate a variety of materials, all of his fish are carved from cypress.
Campbell spends his summers in Isle and winters in Florida, where cypress are abundant. They are the Minnesota equivalent to black spruce or tamarack. Cypress grow in swamps and wetlands in Florida, and they send their root systems out wide to stay upright in the spongy soil. Where the trunk splits into the root system, the grain of a cyprus is rich in swirls and waves, perfect for Campbell’s fish. “It’s too beautiful to cover up with paint,” Campbell said.
He doesn’t take any shortcuts on his creative journeys. “All my pieces are carved from a single block of wood,” he said. “I don’t add on fins or anything.”
Campbell estimates that he spends seven hours on the scales alone for a 24-inch walleye.
The process of turning a block of wood into a fish, fins and all, is a taxing geometric challenge. He roughs out the pieces with a band saw, moves on to an angle grinder, and then to a dentist drill with an endless variety of bits. He uses an artist’s version of the old carpenter’s motto, “Cut once, measure twice.” There are no do-overs in Campbell’s world.
Like Michelangelo, Campbell takes a complicated endeavor and whittles it down to a manageable mantra. “I just keep chipping away at everything that isn’t a fish,” he said.

Top photo by Rob Passons.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed