Through distilling the nebulous into the tangible and concrete, I try to render fleeting moments as permanent and substantial.
Attracted to states of contrast and contradiction, I'm interested in how at the point of any extreme, things tend to revert to their opposite. For example lightness becomes heavy, opacity becomes transparent, the internal becomes external, the fragile becomes strong, what is hidden or obfuscated is revealed. Glass as a medium embodies these paradoxes. The inherent nature of the material and intrinsic tensions naturally lend themselves to these aesthetic and conceptual concerns. Contradictions and ambiguity interest me, for this is where poetry can be found.
Preoccupied with how much of our natural world is disappearing I (like many) am disturbed by how rapidly the flora and fauna of the planet's landscapes are transforming. Change is accelerated these days and a collective sense of natural history and unity has disappeared. Our ability to remember and reflect seems permanently altered by a reliance on technology. In this climate I feel a sense of urgency to preserve some memory of natural and cultural history before it slips forever out of the collective consciousness.
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Born in Toronto, Michelle has traveled extensively, lived abroad, and all over North America. With a BA in English from Dalhousie University and a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, she went on to study glass at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee. She was a glass resident at Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) and the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga and has attended artist residencies and workshops that include Pilchuck, Penland, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Vermont Studio Centre. Her work explores glass and a variety of materials and often involves subtle narrative. Exhibited internationally, she has done numerous private and corporate commissions. In 2005 she received an MFA in Glass from the Ohio State University. She has taught at Sheridan College in the Craft and Design, Art Fundamentals and Visual and Creative Arts Programs, Haliburton School of the Arts in the Winter Intensive Glass Program and is currently teaching in the School of Art and Design at Georgian College. Michelle lives in eastern Ontario where she maintains her studio practice.