Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Stevens.
Michelle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In my very early years, I remember being in absolute awe of my mother’s drawings that she kept in a folder from when she was younger. The most important to me were the portraits; seeing these flicked a switch inside of me and inspired my love for drawing, specifically faces.
Depicting and exploring people through my work has developed into a lifelong obsession I believe stemmed from seeing those drawings as a child. I have a good amount of magical memories from my childhood, but there was something special and more mature about the feelings I got when I first began to understand perspective, shading, and proportions, and I think that’s why I still remember those moments.
Growing up, the abstract concept of adulthood never involved anything other than a creative path. Art has always been an integral part of who I am. I draw anything and everything in my sketchbooks, but due to my fascination with people, nothing is ever quite as fulfilling to me as depicting another person and seeing how they, and others, respond to it.
It brings me closer to understanding how another person sees the world and their perspective, which matters a lot in my eyes because I’m constantly imagining how differently other people could be seeing the same thing I’m seeing.
Right now, I’m exploring concepts for my Illustration BFA thesis project at MassArt and am reading up on Jung’s Archetypes and Collective Unconscious as well as layers of reality, imagination, and perception.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There will always be people expressing that I need a backup plan, questioning the legitimacy of a career in art, and not understanding why I do what I do, and there have been moments over the past few years where I’ve had clearer glimpses of how insane it seems to some people, but those thoughts quickly vanish with the same sureness I’ve had since childhood. It is all I have ever wanted to do, so it doesn’t matter much to me how others see it.
Fortunately, when I first confirmed with my parents in high school that I wanted to pursue an art degree, I was lucky enough to have an art teacher who believed in my abilities and love for what I do enough that he sat down with my parents and spoke with them about the whole “art school” thing – a bit of a turning point in the understanding that this was a legitimate pursuit.
Many people in my life have high hopes for me, but not full confidence in being able to find success in the arts, but this never bothered me much because I know I will happily continue to put my all into what I make and find any way to be doing what I love.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
For the most part, my work visually leans towards realism with surreal storytelling elements. I am not pigeonholed into one specific medium; I enjoy working in everything from colored pencil to oils. The largest project I have been part of thus far was a collaborative project for the May 2017 Boston Calling Music Festival.
After having my work shown at their 2014 festival, I reached out to them again and ended up painting about 70 portraits of people around the city. These were displayed alongside portraits made by several other artists to help fill an outline of the Boston Skyline connecting the two main stages.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Above all, it comes down to self-discipline. But I also see optimism, curiosity, and a huge amount of passion as all being key.
And luck – maybe you witness something or hear a conversation that inspires your next creation, you win a contest that opens up new doors or run into the right person at the right time and it changes everything. It can be helpful to stay aware of the inspiration that is waiting to be spotted in any situation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.michellejstevens.carbonmade.com
- Phone: 774-286-0687
- Email: mjstevens@massart.edu
- Instagram: @michelle.stevens55
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellestevensart/
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
