Edina resident Michael Emmons 100 Artists of the Midwest

Ashley Rooney, author of 100 Artists of the Midwest, included steel sculptor Michael Emmons of Edina in her book. Emmons described this recognition as “a little validation of being an artist.” Emmons’ journey with steel began when he started selling it. He hadn’t thought of making art with it until his wife Judy was looking through a magazine of sculptures; when she asked Emmons if he could do something similar, it was like a spark inside him. Ever since, Emmons has created unique and mesmerizing sculptures with steel. The most inspiring moment in Emmons’ artistic career involved a group of schoolchildren who had seen his sculptures. Afterward, a teacher contacted Emmons afterward and recalled these words uttered by a child in his class: “After seeing that, I want to be a sculptor.” Emmons hopes to continue creating with his own studio, where he can both display and create his sculptures. Emmons’ follows these inspiring words when taking on something new: “Until you try it, you’ll never realize your potential.”