Queen Anne artist Mike Sweeney made his mark in Seattle

Sweeney known as a great artist, family man

By Jessica Van Gilder   Queen Anne News

Michael Henry Sweeney saw things others didn't, so he spent his life trying to share his unique perceptions of the world through his artistic eye. He was 69.

Until his passing on Dec. 29, 2009 after an 11-year-bout with chronic leukemia, Sweeney explored concepts of spatial illusion, symbolic geometry and geomancy - energy fields and their influences. Sweeney was a Queen Anne resident for 22 years with his wife of 47 years, Mickey Sweeney, daughter Tara and son Jess, along with his four grandkids - Pano, Izabeau, Quintin and Cade.

Sweeney first followed his passion for art in sculpture, earning a master's in sculpture from the University of Kentucky in 1967, followed by several years of teaching at the university level.

Since moving back to Seattle in 1977, Sweeney has been the recipient of King County and Seattle Arts Commissions, showed his work in more than seven galleries and he ran a custom metal fabrication firm - Shadow Maker Designers.

"Most people didn't understand his sculpture. They were based on sacred geometry and sacred teachings of artwork like the golden section," said friend and longtime art collaborator Chuck Pettis. "I consider him one of the Northwest's great unrecognized artists, even though he has sculptures throughout the Seattle area."

Sweeney and Pettis collaborated on several projects, including a modern stone circle built on earth energies in 1977 and Seattle Ley Lines in 1987 - a project supported by a Seattle Arts Commissions. The Seattle Ley Line Project mapped out the ley lines - lines of electromagnetic energy lines that originate at power centers - of Seattle.

Traditionally, according to Sweeney, sacred architecture and ancient monuments have been located on power centers and it's believed power centers can affect consciousness as sources of positive energy.

It was Sweeney's ability to see so much more meaning in the placement of things that distinguished him as an artist. A good deal of Sweeney's artwork toyed with spatial illusions, perceptions and shadows.

But Sweeney's portfolio didn't stop with metalwork, innovative sculpture or spiritual ley lines. In 1995, Sweeney turned his minimalist and expressionist eye from sculpture to painting two archetypal symbols: the cross and the circle. Using sumi ink on rice paper, Sweeney had said his goal was to "capture a thunderstorm in a brushstroke."

In an explanation of his paintings, Sweeney said, "The circle is the archetypal symbol for the beginning of all things. Circles describe two states: the area inside the circle is finite and rational; the area outside the circle is infinite and irrational. I paint circles because they provide a format to capture a split second of infinity in a spontaneous gesture."

Through his artwork, Sweeney tapped into a spiritual dimension that was both personal and telling.

"He had an enlightened curiosity and straightforward honesty," said Mickey Sweeney. "Mindfulness is a good word to describe him."

After helping design Tibetan prayer wheels - the most powerful prayer wheels on the planet with 1.3 trillion prayers on them, which are sent out each time the wheel spins - Sweeney tattooed the Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum on his wrist, which means compassion.

Sweeney's last gallery show was at John Parkinson's Form-Space-Light Gallery in Fremont.

"He was certainly a great artist, a decent, mature, hardworking guy, and a family guy who took care of the people around him," Parkinson said. "The whole time I knew him he had leukemia, though it took me awhile to find out. He never complained, never seemed to get down. He had a high energy and was just a very dynamic person."

At the center of Sweeney's artistic pursuits was a man devoted to his family, and they are just as devoted to him.

"He was the beloved matriarch of the family. He connected really well with his kids and his grandkids," Mickey Sweeney said. "He had a great curiosity about everything they were interested in and they loved talking to him."

Though he was always close to his family, since his diagnosis Sweeney enjoyed every moment much more and made even closer connections with the family - starting with annual family trips to Mexico.

"I don't know another way to put it," Tara Sweeney said, "besides to say he was the absolutely loved and respected tribal leader. He was the family mentor, the family nucleus."

Through his lengthy portfolio of artwork and permanent installations, including Ronald Bog Park and Lake City Gateway, Sweeney will continue to share his unique lens of the world, guiding others to see the world a little bit more magically and a little more compassionately