J. Michael Lowe

J. Michael Lowe (18 August, 1942--18 September, 2021) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Leroy and Bernice Lowe (Dohrmann). They and his sister Marilyn lived in Sayler Park, Ohio within sight of the Ohio River, where he was a student at the Sayler Park School. Lowe attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where he discovered his two great loves: Fine Arts and Sandra Lee Miller. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in June 1964, also the same month that he and Sandra Miller were married. After a brief stint as a Ceramic Designer with the Phil-Mar Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio they traveled to Ithaca, New York where Lowe began his graduate training in Fine Arts at Cornell University under the principal instruction of Victor E. Colby and Jack L. Squire. His training in sculpture and ceramics won him a teaching position at St. Lawrence University as an Instructor in Fine Arts in 1966. He was instrumental in building and growing the 3D and 2D arts program. At St. Lawrence, Lowe ascended the academic ranks, eventually becoming a Full Professor in 1978. In 1997 he became G.L. Flint Professor of Fine Arts, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2004. Lowe developed a reputation as an excellent teacher of sculpture and ceramics, developing friendships with some students that would last decades. In addition to several terms as the Chair of Fine Arts, he continued to be a productive sculptor and displayed his work at juried art shows in New York, Texas and Ohio in galleries and on college campuses. In 1985, he created a 20-foot-long outdoor sculpture for St. Lawrence University, supported by the William and Flora Hewlett and Andrew W. Mellon Foundations. After leaving Canton in 2006, Michael and Sandi lived briefly in Warrenton, Virginia, returning to Ithaca in 2006.

Lowe is survived by his wife Sandi, son Brian, daughter-in-law Elaine and grandson Ethan.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Bangs Funeral Home, online condolences at www.bangsfuneralhome.com

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