West Seattle residents have a neighbor who can bring an interesting form of nature to their yards or gardens. The large, colorful flowers, insects, birds and fish that artist Mike Pond brings to life from metal are created by hand in his studio in West Seattle.

Mike will have several of his flowers and butterflies, as well as trellises with herons or hummingbirds, and other works of art, on display and for sale this month at the “Best of the Northwest” art and fine crafts show, produced by the non-profit Northwest Art Alliance.

Mike started working with metal about four years ago. Before he discovered his talent with metal he had worked with wood (he’d earned his living as a carpenter) and then he says he “dabbled in glass” – for a couple of years he produced stained glass pieces, then moved into “hot glass” and built his own glass-blowing studio, which didn’t prove as successful as he’d hoped.

Having learned to work with metal a bit as a carpenter, Mike found his calling as a metal artist when he visited his sister-in-law in Spokane and got to do some welding. He went home, moved out all of his wood-working equipment and replaced it with the tools of the metal-working trade.

This venture has proven more successful than the glass phase of his artistic career. Mike says he started out selling his metal art pieces at the Georgetown Market, then went north to the Fremont Market. After three years he now sells his work only at his own studio and at art shows, including the “Best of the Northwest” spring show coming up March 23-24 at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91 in Seattle.

This will be Mike’s third “Best of the Northwest” art show. He looks forward to talking with the people who stop by his booth; he says he likes the Best of the Northwest show because “it is well-organized and the people who put it on are friendly and helpful.” The show features a variety of art, music, and artisan foods from hundreds of vendors from throughout the Northwest and beyond.

More information on the “Best of the Northwest” spring art show can be found at www.nwartalliance.com. More information on Mike Pond and his artwork can be found at www.mossstudiometalart.org.