Michael Buckley began working with clay when he was in high school in Davenport, Iowa. Thanks to this experience, he decided to enter into a year-long pottery apprenticeship before starting his undergraduate studies at the Kansas City Art Institute.
After living in France for 15 years, he returned to his initial practice of working with clay.
Michael has two main interests; the first is the history of ceramics and especially early Chinese glazes. The second includes the reactions that occur between his glazes and the clay. He digs for wild clays and experiments with many kinds of firings in electric and gas kilns in order to bring out the natural colors and textures of the material. His work distinguishes itself in its pure, uncluttered forms and ever-evolving surface and textural research.