Michael was always interested in sketching and definitely had a "gift" for it. He entered a national competition for drawing ability and won. This allowed him to gain skills and influence in the world of fashion illustration through the classes he was offered.

Mr. Gross attended Herron School of Art and began working as a fashion illustrator at L.S. Ayres, an influential local retail giant. This is when I met Michael and we began a friendship that spanned the years through correspondence until we again crossed paths through our fashion illustration work in Anchorage, Alaska.

Michael left Alaska for Seattle and then Los Angeles and the outstanding design and fashion world of Nordstrom department stores. He drew frequently in his spare time and entered competitions and constantly improved his exquisite rendering and designing skills. I have examples of his art at this time and they are astoundingly beautiful.

Michael returned to Indianapolis in the early-mid 1980's from Austria, to become the Art Director of Strauss & Company. We enjoyed each other's company when there was time and he had fun with my two, then, young children. I moved out of state not long after this period and unfortunately lost track of this fun, fascinating, vibrant man!

He is a fine example of a person that took advantage of his natural abilities and desire for success and adventure coming from Greenfield Central High School, Indiana! I am not positive his graduation date was 1969, but I think this is correct and his Dad was the Postmaster in Greenfield for many years. How very, very fun and exciting it would be to catch-up with this creative wonder!