About
Situated in the hills of the Mojave desert, the High Desert Observatory is an education space and fabrication studio. We offer workshops that focus on textiles, craft, glass, aromatics, and regenerative design. Our goal is to support and foster sustainable relationships with the natural world, hands-on experiential learning, and new avenues for exploring multi-sensory art.
Staff + Instructors
Photography by Kim-lien Le
Michael Endo
Michael Endo is an artist and curator originally from Portland, Oregon. He earned an MFA in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, in 2009 and a BA from Portland State University, Oregon, in 2005. His studio work has been included in national and international exhibitions at venues such as The National Glass Centre (Sunderland, UK), Disjecta (Portland, Oregon), Yuan Yuan Art Center (Jinan, China), and Bullseye Projects (Portland, Oregon and Mamaroneck, New York). Endo is currently the curatorial consultant at Bullseye Projects, organizing exhibitions at The Byre and assisting with traveling exhibitions and art fairs. In 2019, he moved to Yucca Valley, California where he is the co-director of High Desert Observatory.
In addition to his curatorial and studio practices, he is a frequent lecturer and teaches classes at all levels. Recent course venues include Penland School of Craft (Penland, NC), Bild-Werk Frauenau Academy (Frauenau, DE), Pilchuck Glass School (Standwood, WA), Urban Glass (Brooklyn, NY), Northlands Creative (Lybster, UK), Portland Community College (Portland, OR), and Oregon College of Art and Craft (Portland, OR).
he/him
Photography by Sera Lubna
Emily Endo
Emily Endo was born and raised in San Diego, California. They received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2006 and a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2010. Emily served as a faculty member at the Oregon College of Art and Craft from 2010-2018 and as the Chair of the OCAC Fibers Department from 2013-2018. From 2010 - 2018 they worked as a mentor and committee member in the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft Applied Craft + Design MFA program. Emily has worked with students of all ages and backgrounds - from 2010 - 2012 they taught visual arts classes at PHAME Academy for disabled and neurodivergent adults and children’s wilderness survival and craft classes at Trackers NW. Recent workshop venues include Pilchuck Glass School (Standwood, WA), Museum of Craft + Design (San Francisco, CA), Northlands Creative (Lybster, UK), WildCraft Studio School (Portland, OR), and Caldera Arts Center (Sisters, OR).
Endo has exhibited and lectured internationally at institutions including Bullseye Projects (Portland, OR/Latheronwheel, UK), Neutra VDL House (Los Angeles, CA), Harkawik (Los Angeles, CA), LVL3 (Chicago, IL), Bellevue Museum of Art (Bellevue, WA), the Scottish Glass Art Society (Glasgow, UK), the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), the American Craft Council (Minneapolis, MN), Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY). Their work has been featured in American Craft Magazine, Architectural Digest, Interior Design Magazine, Art Ltd. Magazine and Frontrunner Magazine.
they/them
IO Endo
IO Endo runs our hospitality division. She enjoys snacks and sunbathing.