Mike Upp

Upp studied ceramics at Arizona State in the 1970’s.  After graduation, he developed his first studio in an old tobacco barn in an artist community on 300 acres in the hills of northern Tennessee.  He was a dedicated student of the art form and produced functional pottery for a wide variety of markets for over 10 years. 

He exhibited at all the major art shows at the time, winning numerous awards at these events.  After a number of years developing his craft, he moved back to Phoenix and developed a cooperative ceramic’s studio with friends from ASU.  During this time, he became the Executive Director of the Tempe Art Festival, where the fall festival attracted over 250,000 attendees, and presented 350+ artists and 9 stages of entertainment.

​After four years in Tempe, he left the art world and joined corporate America, where he spent most of his career in the high-end software business in marketing and sales positions. He has come full circle and is back in the art world.

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He has a studio in Cornville, AZ, with his wife and partner, Sharon.  The studio is called, Earth and Fire Ceramic Design and has a primary focus on designing functional and decorative ceramic art for the kitchen and home. They call their work Art for Living.