Teaching Philosophy:  Seize every precious teachable moment of any individual, lavishing upon them the tools of art exploration, soaked with empowerment for personal growth, knowledge about others and the pursuit to actively contribute to the world in positive ways.

Teaching is the gentle breeze that set the embers of my passion for art ablaze. It is important that
I share this passion for art and ignite the flame in others who seek guidance with their artistic abilities, just as
someone had done for me. Nothing gives me more pleasure than sharing my gifts with the world.

Imagine being on the top of a majestic mountain overlooking the most breathtaking landscape filled with swelling ridge-lines, enormous lakes, countless trees and grass-filled meadows. The clouds hang low enough to reach out and taste.  Every assortment of creature roam about in their glory. The air is swimming with life.  You begin to feel a tingling sensation in your back.  The feeling is subtle at first then increases in intensity.  Suddenly two bony nodes poke through where your shoulder blades rest.  Then before your brain completely registers what is happening, you sprout these enormous pure white angelic wings.  Do you stand arrested, crippled with fear and fall to ground shuttering in tears, or do you arch your back, shake the feathers open, expand your new appendages and give them a try?
I flew!

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” 
 Maya Angelou

The paintings represented here range from abstract to figurative in content, using oil, acrylic and watercolor paint.

 

A dichotomy exists of quiet intensity in both the artist and her work.

All parts coming together to create a whole.

 

Michelle never locked into a specific choice of medium but rather fell in love with the process of creation and relates the different mediums to the vast differences in people. Each medium has its own unique way of allowing the subject to emerge.  Her goal is to show the essense of these complexities in one visual experience.

This series honors the small wonders of this glorious planet - The Butterfly. I am drawn to the butterfly as it represents growth, transformation and freedom in my personal journey.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...Then God said, "Let us make man in our image..."" (Genesis 1:1 & 26) Thus the thunderous sky rolled back; the earth shook, the mountains trembled...and Michelle was born.

 

That is just the prelude to a story filled with glorious adventures and exploration in art. It is wonderous to take in your hands tools and materials; filled with erupting visions and a stirring in your heart,and begin putting things together that have never been made. Creation.

The energetic process of drawing brings about feelings of elation and satisfaction only surpassed by the Universe giving energy to Her children.

 

"By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested..." (Genesis 2:2)  By the eighth day, using inspired knowledge of those before her, Michelle began creating!

Many long hours went into the creation of the studio space for Artpeace Studio. The new open layout is a welcome change from the cramped make-shift studio in West Hartford.

 

The room that doubled as a laundy room was just the humble begining needed to fuel a young girl's dream to one day build an ample studio to create in. 

 

Here are images of that dream being realized at the new Hartford location!