Meet the Artist, Michelle Rigg
I started painting when I was about three years old. I was told I wasn't very good because I didn't copy very well. I created only from my heart and drew outside the lines.
My younger sister was (and is) a great artist who could copy anything. She drew within the lines. My mother went crazy for her work and encouraged her brilliance. "Shannon is the artist in the family, not you Michelle," my mother would say.
My mother would take my drawings from my heart and toss them in the garbage, but she would put Shannon's drawings on the refrigerator for all to see. I remember crying and feeling so hurt that my precious little paintings were not special enough. So I tucked away my tears, my hurt and my art for 39 years.
One day it burst back, ready to finally be seen, fully matured and with much to say. It all started one night when I was feeling especially anxious and could not sleep. I had all these pent-up emotions welling up inside of me. I couldn't seem to comfort myself. Then I heard an inner voice say there was only one way to let my big feelings out…through art!
So I sat down at my easel, desperate for rest and willing to appease the unhappy part of me. I would do anything if it would allow me to calm down inside!
I opened up my paints and let go. A deep Zen-like calm settled over me and I began to let loose with all my soul. Tears began streaming down my face as I unlocked and reclaimed a loud, innocent, powerful voice inside of me. It would be silenced no more!
I suddenly felt safe, relaxed and purposeful. "But I'm a professional speaker and success coach, not an artist," I heard my inner know-it-all say. But, as I painted, the quality of my work improved very quickly. My friends were startled by the depth and quality of my paintings. The compliments flowed thick and fast. Soon I was giving away pieces to women I cared about who loved and felt touched by them.
One day my husband came into my art room to say hello and see what my latest project was. The walls were covered with pieces. The art shimmered in three dimensions. It jumped off the canvas and touched the emotions with color and light. My husband looked around and said, "Enough of giving your art away - these pieces are really good! It's time to start offering them for sale!"
I put the word out to my friends that I was going to start selling my paintings. Did they know anyone who might want to display them?
One of my friends arranged a meeting with a woman who owns a shop that caters to women. We met and I showed her several paintings. After I agreed to return with several paintings for her to display (I couldn't leave any with her that day because I was going to display them at a gift show the following week), I started preparing to leave. She said, "Where are you going with my painting?" She wrote me a check on the spot for a painting that had particularly caught her eye and heart.
Painting is now a part of my everyday life. Of course, most of my time is still focused on speaking, training, writing and running my business. However, I carve out time to paint just about every day. It's part of my "me" time.
When I paint from my soul, my love for women pours out onto the canvas. Women are flowers to me. I know I will continue to specialize in flowers, and only flowers, because they symbolize the power and beauty and serenity of women.
All of my art is created for women. Its purpose is to help guide women back to themselves, to heal and energize them, to give permission to women everywhere to stand up and be true to who you really are! It’s a message to the heart and soul of women that only they see and "get," to inspire them in whatever way they require inspiration.
This may sound strange, but I did not choose art. Art chose me...and we've been having a blast together every since!
Originals By Michelle - Art For Women
Phone: (480) 634-6580
