10 Questions with Sandy Michel

Sandy Michel is a black female with a background in architecture, art, photography, design, creating spaces, urban planning, and sustainable methods. Sandy holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and a Master's degree in Sustainable Building Conservation. She is currently an artist, business owner (La Petite Doe), content creator, and design-related projects for other companies. Her inspirations for her artwork and photography are nature, textures, patterns, the built environment, traveling, historical places, and the sun.

Sandy started designing in 2008, much earlier, when studying for her Bachelor's in Architecture. She realized that she needed the freedom to create. Art was the outlet she needed to break from the restrictive rules of Architecture. Since then, Sandy has always found a way to express this intuitive desire to create art. Sandy loves to learn different art genres, which gives her the freedom of artistic expression that she craves. Her heart belongs to Monoprinting; she fell in love with this method years ago when she took a gap year. Sandy loves the sense of letting go of the art when printing it through the press.

A quote from Sandy, "With all other art methods, there is a sense of control from the artist, but in monotypes, at the very end, you lose all control the minute you lay the blank sheet of paper on the plate and then roll them through the printing press."

www.sandymichel.art | @sandy.art.lapetitedoe

ARTIST STATEMENT

Sandy loves the surprise, the unknown, the imperfection of the printing process, and the lesson. She learns each time to let go and let the art be what it wants to become. Sandy resonates with this art method because it is different from the perfectionism architecture strives to be.

Sandy is known for her use of blending colors and matching them with conventional shapes. The colors in her work are remarkable and change every time. Sometimes the color will describe her feeling. Other times like the Blue Rainfall, the colors are used to keep a memory. There is a connection between the shapes being used and the color in her monotypes, making her art pieces complete. Her background in Architecture is reflected in her work because there is a spatial sense throughout her work.

Solar Eclipse, Monotype, 8x10 inches, 2020 © Sandy Michel

INTERVIEW

You come from an architectural background. How did you begin making art, and when did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

Actually, before I got into Architecture, I had already started to make art, but I never thought of becoming an artist. I think it is because I wanted to be an Architect as well. I love both worlds, and I think they intertwine quite well. When I started to do art regularly, I rarely showed anyone my art pieces. Still, I did show my artwork with an Architecture Professor because he is a notable artist and an Architect, and he encouraged me to continue being an Artist. But I still did not think of myself as an artist because my goal was to become an Architect. But, I would take any opportunity I had to take an art class because I crave the freedom of expression through art. For me, Architecture and Art are my ying-yangs; I need them both to feel complete. It was not until the pandemic that I considered myself an artist and started sharing my work with the world. It was when I was at a fork in the road of life, I had just left my "dream job" as an Architectural Historian/Planner in the beautiful Savannah, GA, and the only thing I wanted to do was art. I felt that art was the one thing that allowed me to break away from the chaos exploding around me. Before I consider myself an artist, I would always get compliments and people wanting to purchase my art, but I did not want to part with them. For me, every art piece is like a diary entry; it paints my emotions and feelings at the time. To this day, it is hard to let go of an original art piece because I feel like I am letting go of a piece of me, like an arm or a leg.

What do you wish you knew about contemporary art before you got started?

Good question. I wish I knew that there are more ways to get your artwork seen before I got started. Before, I thought people would only want to see a particular type of art based on the area that I lived in, but I was wrong. With contemporary art and artists, I realized that the whole world could have access to my art. Just because my city may not appreciate my artwork, access to social media and the internet allows artists to find their niche community. It is a place where their art can be appreciated and loved, which I think is incredible, but I wish I knew before deciding to become an artist because I would have done it a LOT sooner.

Sunset, Monotype, 6x14 inches, 2013 © Sandy Michel

June Sunset, Monotype, 24x32 inches, 2021 © Sandy Michel

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

I always start with a vision of how I want the art piece to look, and I typically will get an idea for an art piece at a random time, and sometimes I have to stop whatever I am doing to get it out. Most of them are after something happened in my life, and I need to express the event. I try not to force me doing art because whenever I do, the art piece never gets finished, or everything turns out wrong. Because my art consists of blending colors and lines, I tend to pick my colors out. Once I pick the colors that set the mood of the art piece, I then test out different methods of applying the colors. I do that to match the vision in my head, and so after I explore the ways, I want to include the shapes. I always have shapes and colors because it is like the ying-yang of what completes me. The architecture requires stability and the art side of me craves fluidity, but it also flows into personality. I am both, and I have this constant battle to show both sides of me in all my artwork. Sometimes the colors are more stable than the shapes and vice versa. Whenever I do artwork, I pay attention to how the color comes out, this needs to be perfect, and sometimes it will take a long time to get what I am trying to achieve. Needless to say, I don't believe art has to be perfect. In fact, I love to embrace the flaws after pressing my art through the printmaking press. There is a sense of freedom that I enjoy when mistakes happen, like the color spilling outside the boundaries or when the color does not show up on the sheet. I love that because it is the idea that a machine created by man meant to be more perfect than a human is making 'human mistakes'...but then the question is: is it still the machine's fault? Or does the responsibility of imperfection fall back to human error? That is always something I think about when I am using the pressing machine.

Sun in the clouds, Monotype, 8x10 inches, 2020 © Sandy Michel

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

My inspirations typically come from nature and the built environment. Recently though, I found inspiration from life events. Earlier this year, I experience a nasty fracture to my left foot, and I was confined to bed and could not go outside. The most frustrating part of the journey was not doing basic things like walking my dog, taking a shower for shorter than an hour, or simple joys like sitting crisscross on the floor. The entire time I was just frustrated and annoyed that I could not do things that I enjoy. Pandemic heightens this frustration; I was already frustrated with lockdown, then you add even further imprisonment by having a complete fracture. This series of Monotypes helped me convey those feelings. I call it Blending of Flavors because it blends all my emotions during my healing process. My last series (Blending Flavors) was about that pain, frustration, and final hope that things will be better. The first one in the series conveyed pain, AGONY, frustration, and anger. The grittiness depicts the limits of keeping calm when there is so much to be upset about—trying to find the path to my wanted zen but only having sadness, darkness, and just pain. The second one in the series conveyed how I started to adapt to my new reality, not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. The struggle of just trying to get back to 'normal' is a delicate balance, a struggle but necessary because being in agony all the time can be exhausting. If you try and fail, you go back to start with more emotional debt than when you started, so keep going. The last one in the series conveyed me becoming centered and calm in my new reality. Being humble and grateful for the things we have and not what we don't have made me realize that I can make it through this setback with my zen. Doing this series actually help me feel better through that time in my life.

What do you see as the strengths of your art, visually or conceptually?

My art's strengths are the ability to evoke an emotion and story through colors, shapes, and textures. When people look at my art, they always mention how they feel looking at my piece before actually analyzing what they think it is about. I also think a strength I have in my art is visually expressing myself through my artwork without creating realistic landscapes or portraits. I love creating the sun, a rainstorm, or a solar eclipse without just repeating what I see and focusing on the essence of what makes them. What makes a good artwork is the power to make someone want to stare for a while, and even stronger is when the artwork is abstract. I say this because when someone looks at abstract art and says I feel like I am watching a rainstorm or feel happy or sad, they don't know why. That is much powerful to me visually than just creating a rainstorm. It is not to say that landscapes and realistic art pieces are not good; it is actually quite the opposite. Abstract art should be just as viable as any other art piece and should be allowed in any gallery, instead of the idea that anyone can do abstract, but the other types of art take technique. As an abstract artist, I can 100% guarantee that my art takes technique, time, trial and error, study, and attention to one's concepts.

You are also a designer and business owner, and content creator. Tell us more about it, how do you juggle so many different things at once?

Yes! I am a proud owner of La Petite Doe, a sustainable handmade home-goods boutique, where I sell furniture, bath and bedding, drinkware, and more shameless plug. But anyway, to answer the question, I have a PASSION for my work and time organization. I absolutely love what I do, and that is what keeps me motivated and determined. Of course, it is never perfect, and I do have some all-nighters once a month, and I get exhausted and stressed. But throughout the years, I have realized how to say no to things I can not do and just being content with the projects I can do. Life is always a balance, and as long as I try my best to maintain that balance, life isn't overwhelming.

Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from?

Oh, so many... too many. I would say I get my work ethic from the women in my family. I am blessed to be surrounded by women who were single parents doing it all (mom), doctors who never gave up (Jojo, Leslie), and wise women who taught me to LIVE my life. They have shaped me into who I am today, and I would not have opportunities if they did not work so hard to provide for the family. My art inspirations (because it changes too frequently) are Purple Palace, BarbArt, and Minnismall. Now, these artists do not create the same kind of art that I do by no means, but they inspire me to keep going. Purple Palace always reminds me to be genuine to my true self in my art and encourages me to create and express myself whether the outcome is good or bad. BarbArt reminds us that change and not thriving for perfection in art is part of the journey of all artists. Minniesmall reminds me of why I started to share my art and start my business, when I was tired of hating my life, and I feel more alive when I am doing art or something creative.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Right now, I am working on a new series of monotypes. My plans for the next year are to move to an area that will support my artwork and desire to live a simpler life. My art journey is craving a change in scenery, so I am slowly making changes in my life to support this journey. The exciting part is that I am getting ready to eventually prepare my artwork for a gallery that is not online.

Springtime Lush, Monotype, 8x10 inches, 2020 © Sandy Michel

Do you think the past pandemic experience changed your approach to art? And if so, how?

Yes, for sure! How can any artist say that it has not? My approach is more relaxed and daring. I have also tried more and more to apply myself and have more confidence in my ability to succeed in the art world. I have a 'screw it, let's do it' approach, and already I have done so much more than I expected to do in the time frame for which I did it in and am just getting started.

What do you wish to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?

I wish to be financially secure and depend solely on my art and business for my career goals. This will allow me to afford a nice art studio, giving me more time to do art and focus on opening a physical location for La Petite Doe. My personal life goals involve inner peace and joy as well as living simply.

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