On the one hand, Mike Crawford’s works are an expression of the liquidity and sculptural possibilities of his chosen medium. On the other, he investigates and manipulates the natural and cultural artefacts of bicultural Aotearoa.

Drawing upon his own European and Māori (Ngāti Raukawa) ancestry his works have included forms of hue (gourd), waka huia (containers for treasured items), and vessels. These shapes capture the essence of the land’s native manu, birds. Crawford pares down the latter to the swoop of a beak or curve of a back; the rounded planes and edges of the glass combine a barely contained energy with beautifully balanced poise.

The success of Crawford’s making comes in the realisation that each of his pieces does not need external reference points. It is not essential for the viewer to know that a work is a Huia vase or a Kākāpō bowl, it can exist as a purely sculptural expression of volume and light. The knowing is an added layer of meaning to be discovered.

Crawford’s manu at Auckland Museum represent three iwi that make up the Museum's Taumata-ā-Iwi: Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Paoa and Waikato-Tainui. The displays were curated by each iwi with taonga that depicts who they are.

Crawford holds a Bachelor of Design in Sculpture from UNITEC School of Design, Auckland. In 2006 he was a finalist in the Ranamok Australian and New Zealand glass prize. In 2011 Crawford’s work was included in the Nga Pou Whenua exhibition at the Waikato Museum. Crawford has received several prestigious nominations and awards including the 2010 selection of Moa Bowl for the prestigious applied arts and design exhibition Talente in Munich, Germany. This was followed in the same year by the selection of Crawford’s Still Life for the 2011 New Glass Review.  In 2022 Crawford won NZSAG’s Lazelle Supreme Award. His work features in the public collections of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum and Waikato Museum as well as private collections in New Zealand, Australia and North America.