Artist Feature August 2021: Amanda Michele

Art Inspired by Everyday Life

This month we spoke with artist, Amanda Michele who creates art inspired by everyday life and believes that each of our senses is a part of the creative process.

Q: I would love to start at the beginning - where are you from, and how did you first discover art?

I was born in Arkansas but was primarily raised in Wisconsin. I've been making art for as long as I can remember, and my parents always encouraged that creativity. In preschool, I would talk my way out of nap time to illustrate the stories I forced my teachers to write for me. 

Art has meant different things to me at different times, though. When I was younger, it was all about the end result, the painting to hang on the wall. Right now, it's more an exploration of a concept and the process to get there. I didn't discover that side of art until about 10 years ago.

Q: When/how did you decide to pursue art as a profession (if that was ever a decision), and what do you think pushed you or inspired you to do so?

Even though I've always loved making art, I never really thought of artmaking as a career path until college. 

I initially chose to major in Biology because it was a subject I liked and felt "practical" enough to get me a job someday. Three semesters in, my botany professor assigned us a project to showcase what we learned over the class. It could be anything EXCEPT an essay. 

So, I created a painting of a plant cell in various stages of mitosis, and after grading it, my teacher offered to buy it from me. Only then was I able to let go of that fear of failure and scarcity. I switch my major the next day. 

Each day since then, it's been an active choice that this is what I want to do with my time on earth and to never stop.

Q: How did you develop your current style? Have you always been interested in abstraction, or did you previously create more figurative work?

I've dabbled a little bit in figurative work in undergrad, but I always come back to abstraction. The most significant transition for me was when my work stopped being representational. Exploring feelings, thoughts, and memories — rather than things you can hold in your hand — continues to be a significant inspiration for me.

The way Wassily Kandinsky saw painting and compared it to music was an eye-opener, too. Nobody listens to a symphony and says, "But what IS it?" Music doesn't need to be a reproduction of something in the physical world. It could simply be an "expression of the artist's soul."

I try to allow my work to exist like that. Part meditation and part jazz.

Q: Do you feel you have a mission or vision as an artist? Anything you would like the viewer to do, think, or feel when experiencing your work?

I'm fascinated with duality and the balance in-between. I like to pair order and chaos. I feel like it's a universal experience that we all go through in life and sometimes struggle to make sense of it. As humans, we are all storytellers, and I'm continually amazed by how we can take seemingly random events and weave them into the narratives of our lives and our own personal identities. I make work that reflects life and this juxtaposition, a combination of structure and flow. If anything, I want the viewer to feel that push and pull within themselves.

Q: Can you walk us through your creative process and talk about what usually inspires your work (an idea, color, thought, etc.)?

Each of my pieces is a meditation on a memory or experience. So I start with a single memory in mind. What color does that memory feel like? What shape?

I love using watercolors since it's one of the most chaotic and unruly of mediums. When left to happenstance, it creates something so enthralling. I feel like experiences are this way, especially when looking back on them. Watercolor also requires patience, so I have to reapproach the memory like I reapproach the paper for each layer.

Finally, after the watercolor has made its mark, I add that structure and form with small hand-drawn details. This is the part where we are making sense of chaos. 

Q: Who or what most influences and inspires you? Are there any teachers or mentors who have most shaped you/your work?

Everyday life is my biggest inspiration. Even the most mundane moments. Every sight, sound, taste, touch is all a part of the creative process.

In terms of people who've inspired me, I recently finished a 2-D Intensive course through NYC Crit Club under the tutelage of Padma Rajendran. That was a very transformational experience for me and my work.

Q: If you had unlimited time and resources, do you think your work would change, and if so, how?

Oh definitely! But I also think that creativity thrives in limitation. I started using watercolors 10 years ago since I needed a non-toxic medium I could use in a tiny NYC apartment without suffocating myself. After years of using oil-based paintings and materials, this limitation really opened up a door for me creatively. So while I don't know exactly how my work would change with unlimited resources, I do know it will probably be more difficult.

Q: Any upcoming shows or projects we can keep an eye out for or other ways we can support you?

I just finished a group show at 440 Gallery in Park Slope and the Other Art Fair in Greenpoint, so I'm taking a little break from showings until the fall. Still, my work is always available on my website at AmandaMicheleArt.com or my Instagram @amandamicheleart.