August, 2025 CAVARTS Spotlight Feature: Matthew Mikesell
Matthew is an Army Veteran who grew up in the wide-open landscapes of southwest Montana before building a life in Minnesota. After nearly three decades of service in the Army National Guard that included deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, he found creative refuge in the outdoors.
Through landscape photography, Matthew captures quiet moments in nature, like the rugged beauty of Lake Superior’s North Shore, sharing the same sense of exploration and reflection that inspires his work. 📷🌲
Name:
Matthew Mikesell
Branch of Service:
Army
About:
I was born and raised in SW Montana - I grew up at Big Sky, Bozeman, and Livingston. I joined the Montana Army National Guard as a medic in 1986 to help pay for college, and served as a medic, ROTC cadet, and Infantry Lieutenant before I resigned my commission and was honorably discharged in 1997. I moved to Minnesota where I had family that moved here a decade before I did, and after about six months I started missing the Guard and enlisted as a Counterintelligence Agent. Due to a few reasons, a few of us who started down the CI path weren't able to finish our MOSQ so we became Intel Analysts instead. I served in the 634th MI Battalion and 34th Aviation Brigade before I deployed to Afghanistan as an individual augmentee in an Intelligence Sergeant slot, assigned to the 240th Engineer Group/CTF Chamberlain in 2006-2007. Upon returning home, I was the S-2 NCOIC with the 1/94th Recon Battalion before I transferred to a spot in the 34th ID G-2 section prior to deploying with the Division HQ to MND South in Iraq in 2009. I retired from the Guard in 2015, and after listening to enough people telling me I've changed, I applied for and received a 60% disability rating from the VA in 2020. In my civilian life in Minnesota, I worked in sheet metal fabrication and was married in 2003, separated in 2014 due to shenanigans that occurred back home while I was overseas, and finally divorced in 2023. I'm in sheet metal fabrication, currently as the 2nd shift Fabrication Lead at Ajax Metalforming Solutions. My main hobbies are geocaching and skiing, I dabble in photography, and I've been teaching myself to play guitar for the past dozen years. I also do some gaming - I have a PS5 and my favorites are Mass Effect and Horizon.
Title of Piece:
Split Rock Lighthouse, North Shore of Lake Superior
Medium of Piece:
Landscape Photography
Piece:
Meaning behind piece:
The North Shore of Superior has some amazing scenery and this is a great example of the many sights I saw during a weekend trip I took in the late Spring of 2021.
What inspires you to create art?:
I've always taken snapshots and I've been told I have a good eye. I like sharing what I see through the photos I take, and taking landscape photos, along with geocaching, gets me out and about more than I would be otherwise.
What part of your life has benefited the most from your creative pursuits?:
Nature therapy through exploring and taking photos, and a sense of community through sharing my work. I also find learning to play guitar is a great mindfulness exercise.
Is it important for you to challenge yourself in your art? Tell us why or why not!:
Yes, it is important to challenge myself. I can focus on my photography and guitar playing and clear my mind from all of the distractions.
What is your process or ritual to get your creativity flowing?:
I don't really have a ritual. For my photography, it's usually something that catches my eye in the moment that I feel like capturing and sharing. With my guitar playing, it's learning a new chord sequence or scale and advance my playing.
What does CAVARTS mean to you?:
CAVARTS is a group of artistic-minded veterans who've had similar experiences and know the struggles.
Our monthly theme for August is The Business of Art, but Matthew submitted this last July, when our theme was Summer BBQ. Here’s what Matthew had planned for the month:
I'll get out and socialize, but it might not exactly be at a BBQ.
What words of inspiration do you have for your fellow CAVARTists?:
Cherish the small wins and focus on the positives.
