Mike's baskets are generally classified as "contemporary" because his primary media are contemporary materials such as rattan reed and RIT Fabric and other aniline dyes. However, he does weave with natural materials such as honeysuckle and buckbrush ("Symphoricarpos orbiculatus"). But he says that he will always weave with contemporary materials because it allows him to express himself better artistically, and there are certain colors he likes to use that cannot be obtained from natural materials. He defines the difference between traditional and contemporary as the following: "A Cherokee basket is classified as traditional if it is woven in a traditional way, and all the materials and dyed are natural. A Cherokee basket is classified as contemporary if it is woven in a traditional way using commercially manufactured materials and dyes. Some weavers will use both natural and commercial materials. This is called using 'mixed mediums' and it fits into the contemporary category."