Porta

The medieval arched gate seen in this piece is the Porta Cappuccini.  It was built in Assisi around 1316 and is still sound (cars drive through it!).  I overlayed this image with a shot of the winding dirt road that leads to the Arte Studio Ginestrelle, where I stayed for my artist residency.  These images were paired to convey the feel of wandering, of not knowing what lies ahead, and of the intrigue that drives us on. 

Size (h x w) 24" x 18"

Media: Phototransfered digital photography on panel with pastels

AVAILABLE

Michele Waalkes ARTS Studio has Moved to the Main Floor of 2nd April galerie!

My studio-mate, Lynn Digby, and I recently moved our shared studio space to the main floor of 2nd April galerie. It is a great new space and I am very excited to be in it. Many thanks to Lynn and Paul Digby who did so much of the work to transform the space while I recovered from back surgery.

Resilience

Resilience was created from a shot I took at the beach in Holland, MI on an amazingly windy day in November. It was very windy, sand was blowing all around and the waves were crashing in hard. I felt a sense of awe at the display of power. I love the image of the lone tree in midst of it all, buffeted, but standing firm. I incorporated wire to extend and emphasize how the branches were whipping around in the wind. Some of the wire branches flow onto the matt around the image.

This piece was shown in my two-person show entitled Sheer Obscurity, at The Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH.

Size: (h x w) 17" x 21"
Media: Mixed media
SOLD

Complexity

Complexity is created from a photo I took of a tree after an ice storm in Canton, OH. I manipulated it to abstract it in order to best highlight the intricacies of its silhouette and then adhered it to lucite panels wired together.

This piece was shown in my two-person show entitled Sheer Obscurity, at The Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH.

Size: (h x w) 34" x 8"
Media: Fibers, lucite, wire
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Prospect

Prospect is constructed with a hand-colored black and white photo I had took at Stadium Park in Canton, OH. This photo is overlayed with a sheer image of a pathway and trees, taken at Genessee Monastery in New York. I combined the two images to capture the gap between reality and desire we sometimes experience, in a grass-is-always-greener kind of way.

This piece was shown in my two-person show entitled Sheer Obscurity, at The Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH.

Size (h x w) 14" x 11"
Media: Mixed media
SOLD

Lost

Lost was created with the intent of illustrating the sense of feeling lost along the journey of life. It is a self portrait of sorts at this stage of my life. It is meant to show the reflection & reevaluation that happens along the way by uniting a subtle image of a pathway, taken on a hike at the Genessee Monastery, along with a photo I took of a compass on a boat in Maine.

This piece was part of "The Company of Friends" exhibit at 2nd April galerie.

Size: (h x w) 12" x 12"
Media: Mixed media
SOLD

Resolve

Resolve is a mixed media piece created with an inverted image of steps making their way up the dune from the beach at Lake Michigan, in Holland, Michigan. The text unites with the image to explore the concept of what makes us press on toward an elusive destination.

This was exhibited at 2nd April galerie.

Size: (h x w) 17" x 21"

Media: Mixed media

SOLD

Parallel

Parallel was an experiment using two versions of the same image taken at the Genessee Monastery in New York. To me, it explores the mystery and perception of reality, that which is seen and unseen, known and unknown.

This was part of my solo show entitled NEXT at the Massillon Museum in 2008-9.

Size: (h x w) 21" x 17"

Media: Mixed Media

SOLD

Astray

Astray was made up of images from the Genessee Monastery in New York. In an effort to show a sense of confusion and obscurity, I overlapped layers of tree and pathway images on sheer and opaque fabric and paper.

This was exhibited at the Massillon Museum in the juried Stark County Artists Exhibition, at the Sixth Street Gallery's juried Natural Beauty Show in Vancouver, WA, and in my two-person show entitled Sheer Obscurity, at The Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH.

Size: (h x w) 14" x 11"

Media: Mixed Media

SOLD

Solitude

Solitude was the first mixed media piece I made using a variety of photo transfer processes. The images used were taken while hiking at the Genessee Monastery in New York. The embedded text ponders the concept of space for oneself and the joy that can be experienced when one carves out space to be alone.

This was exhibited in the 65th Annual May Show at The Little Art Gallery.  It was awarded 1st place in mixed media.

Size: (h x w) 11" x 17"

Media: Mixed media

SOLD