Michael Kieley has been an art and design educator for most of his life, first at his alma mater, the Southern California Institute of Architecture, then at Otis College, where he taught 3d design and an introduction to Interior Architecture. In 1997 he was offered a class called Visual Thinking, which he evolved as a course in art and innovation. His method focused on project-based and experiential learning. In the 24 years he was at Loyola Marymount University his enthusiasm for teaching continued growing. Over the years he added an online element to the face-to-face classes. He spent the summer of 2008 diving in deep, studying 80 modalities for online teaching. Finally choosing two, VoiceThread, and NearPod.
In addition to being an educator, Michael is a lifelong maker and artist.
Michael Kieley grew up in Southern California and started building furniture with his father at age 7. Making things has been a lifelong passion. He loved to make art, even when a couple of his teachers told him he was a bad artist. A tipping point in his life was the five years he spent at the experimental architecture school, SCI-arc in the late 70s. The school was a bit wild, extremely open to new ideas, and focused on project-based learning—in a sense the Black Mountain College of its day.
Making objects has of continual importance, and his portfolio includes more than four hundred pieces of furniture, some focused on function, and some others where beauty is the only function. Michael now lives in Joshua Tree, CA, and is in start-up mode on a non-profit mentoring program in studio furniture; Creating Art Furniture: an education & mentoring program.
Michael Kieley has advanced degrees in architecture (BArch), sculpture (MA), and psychology (MFT), and teaches university courses focused on contemporary art and enhanced creativity.
He posts articles about boosting individual creative confidence on his blog: CreativGrowth.com
He is a member of the Society for Architectural Historians, Southern California Chapter, the American Craft Council, and the Furniture Society. https://furnsoc.org/directory/michael-kieley
Michael Kieley hosts art, architecture, and music experiences through his MeetUp Groups. He went to his first MeetUp in 2009 and has attended 322 events, of which he’s hosted about 120.
Creative Growth SoCal has 2,700 members. http://meetu.ps/c/3xKhK/1qqD1/f
And in 2021 he started Creative Growth in the Desert in order to connect with his local community.