About the artist

Hi, I’m Michaela.

I was born in Sydney, Australia, and was painting before I could walk. My favourite childhood photo of myself is holding a paintbrush standing at an easel, about age 5, wearing a plastic poncho with “I am an artist” printed on it. I still remember that it was lime green plastic with black writing on it, I got it at the Royal Easter Show, and that I was using water based paint made from powder in royal blue, red, and yellow on newsprint paper.

I am a surthriver of domestic violence and sexual abuse. I volunteer with fellow surthrivers in my community, where we help guide one another as we continue forward in our own life journeys and in our journeys together as surthrivers. Like phoenixes, each of us has risen from the ashes and destruction of our pasts and we are now engaging in the ongoing process of rebuilding ourselves and our lives daily. Together, we thrive, together we rise, and together we support one another as we raise and rebuild ourselves.

I graduated from Sydney TAFE with a certificate of Fine Arts and have dabbled in many different styles of art and crafts since then. In January 2015, I bumped into an awesome YouTube video with mixed media art, and that was it. My art practice became my passion and favorite past time.

I’m a lifelong learner and love to try new techniques and mediums. My primary inspiration and constant colour palette is Australian Mother Nature, her flora and fauna make my heart sing with joy. I also love the Steampunk genre, including grunge, so aspects of that style often sneak into my work.

I began showing my art in 2017 and have never looked back. I’ve been a member of the Everything Art, Wanderlust online art community and year long art journaling course since 2019. In 2020, I took the major step of creating this online platform to begin publicizing my art works, adventures, and lessons. I was absolutely honored and delighted to be selected as a member of The Crafter’s Workshop International Design Team for 2020-22, and I am really enjoying creating some fun projects.

If you want to follow my creative adventures, please follow me on the TCW Blog and platforms, and on my Instagram account, YouTube Channel, Pinterest boards, listed below. Thank you for supporting me in my life and artistic journeys, I do hope you will subscribe and follow me so that we can journey together.