Born Christmas day 1966, Michael Alan Quinn was the fourth son of five boys raised in Topanga Canyon, California. From an early age Mike was fascinated with animals, mainly fueled by the family subscription to National Geographic. Two houses away was the Doolin Custom Tile Factory. Mrs. Doolin was a huge help with Mike's formative experiences working with clay.

At the age of twelve Mike was transplanted to Texas and attended Bellaire High School in Houston. After high school, he enrolled into Southwest Texas State University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During Mike's college years he rediscovered ceramics. At the end of a semester Mike sold a few pieces of his clay creations to some of his classmates. Soon after, Mike went to Chuy's (Mexican Restaurant in Austin, Texas) to see if they would put his fish in their six week rotating art show. They agreed and after 10 years the "Fish With Attitude" are still sold off the walls in the main dining area at Chuy's on Barton Springs in Austin.

At this time, Clay Planet supplies 133 galleries to meet the rapidly increasing demand. Many of these retail outlets are Deck the Walls stores located in prominent malls acrss the United States.

Mike now lives in the Clear Lake Area outside of Houston with his wife Jodi and new baby girl Amber. Mike and Jodi work together with their six employees to service their 133 galleries. Mike sells two different types of fish, custom and cast. The custom pieces are handmade out of ceramic and finished by Mike personally. The cast pieces are made from molds of his original fish designs. These pieces are handmade using gypsum cement and hand painted.

The signature style that defines Mike's creatures is a comical blend of whimsy and angst. In ten years Mike has sold over 50,000 pieces from coast to coast and around the world.

 

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