Union Drum Major
May 22, 1999 Duluth News Tribune: "Want to see the creative
work of a 12-year-old? Check out the hundreds of clay figurines
created by Micah Newman of Solway Township that are on display
at the Children's Museum in the Depot. Interested in the Civil
War, Newman created figures depicting battlefield and camp life
for Union and Confederate armies, including numerous styles of
uniforms, battle and period dress. Newman's 'Orcs and Humans'
collections, inspired by Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' Series
and another, based on the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, bring
you to other ers and worlds. Newman's work is on display through
June."
Micah's agile fingers have been molding clay in his mother's
pottery studio since before he can remember. His presentation
of military uniforms through history won Grand Prize at the St.
Louis County Fair in 1998.
In a feature story Joan Farnum of the Duluth Budgeteer wrote,
"Micah's figurines aren't just haphazardly put together...
They're often based on books he's read, or particular characters
he wants to develop.
"The detail in the tiny Civil War sculptures is almost unbelievable,
and it only took him about ten minutes to make each of them.
"All the details of life have been reproduced so well that
it's like having a bird's-eye view back in time. Everything from
canteens with leather straps, piles of hard tack and donkeys tiredly
pulling carts have been reproduced here."
