Featured Artist Michelle Graves aka Graves
Pronouns: she/her
Website: gravesmichelle.com
What type of art do you make? What mediums do you use?
I am an interdisciplinary artist who uses research and text for the basis of my existential work, which ranges from large acrylic paintings to small ink on paper to mixed mediums including video and installation.
Inspiration comes from getting fixated and doing research on subjects like physiology, quantum physics and over-analyzation of everyday experiences. I like to explore unknowns and find a conclusion of sorts - a calm within chaos.
I come from a creative family and was always provided materials to draw or craft with. My spark of creativity was definitely nurtured. One of my first memories in pre-school was looking at a drawing I made that was turned into a dinner plate. I remember the amount of satisfaction I felt thinking, "I made this." At this point in my 40s, making art, learning, exploring topics and being creative in general is a necessity.
I like to make work with levels of depth. The more time a viewer spends with a piece, the deeper they can potentially go into the concept presented.
Yes most definitely. I'd say some of my favorite artists are Tracey Emin, Laurie Anderson, Sean Landers' text based work, Ralph Steadman, and collaborator John Airo.
How has, if at all, skating effected your art?
Playing roller derby for a long time definitely affected the physicality in my art practice. It created a desire to go large and make big explosive gestures. It also affected the way that I think about and how much research I did on breath and breathing (which I used for my Masters thesis) and what it means to be in a certain durational state of consciousness or "zone."
