March Artist of the Month
Meet Margie Michals
From the time she was a young girl, Michals was exposed to the arts. She grew up with her family in North Cambridge, Massachusetts in a neighborhood built with culture, an inspiration for a budding artist. She lived amongst a calligrapher, photographer, sculptor, writer and an entertainment lawyer. On Sundays one of her neighbors would open his windows and play piano for everyone to hear. Bob Slate Stationer, where her older brother worked, was at the top of the street; for Michals this was the equivalent of a candy shop where she could buy her art supplies. Whenever she was tasked with sitting still, she used her new purchases with excitement.
Michals always dreamt of being an artist but, at that time, thought that meant a “starving artist” struggling to get jobs. She took her parent’s advice and started her liberal arts education at U Mass Boston. She eventually left U Mass to become a certified dental assistant at Tufts University. While working full time as dental assistant Michals attended evening classes at Northeastern taking chemistry class for her entrance into the Forsythe Dental School (located next door to the Museum of Fine Arts!) and a graphic design course. She still had hopes of finding her way into the Arts. She eventually switched directions and attained her degree in Interior Design while still working full time. She learned perspective drawing and fell in love with creating renderings. When her boss retired, she took the leap and worked at the Boston Design Center as an art assistant for the Diana Levine Fine Arts Gallery.
Michals and her husband began their family and, during this period of her life, she still had the passion to learn creatively so took photography courses at New England Photography School. She used her photography and graphic design skills for the family hockey business. As she used social media to promote the business, she decided to start her own social media page on Instagram and created Small Cup Designs intended as a fun way to share Interior Design photos while decorating their new home. She had two very unexpected experiences. Gail Davis, an Interior Designer in New Jersey reached out to Michals to do a house portrait of Grace’s House for a Charitable Show to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Foundation in honor of Grace, a brain cancer survivor. She was featured in the article “How 21 Interior Designers Rallied Around a Young Girl with Cancer” in House Beautiful Magazine in April 2019. Next, Interior Designer Ana Vera of Newton contacted Michals to donate her paintings to the “One Room Challenge” featured in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.
Michals charitable work has brought her many gifts. “I really believe that when you give you receive.” With all this interesting publicity, Michals gained the confidence to do more marketing of her own work, but also gives back by supporting women artists everywhere to promote themselves. “You’re never too old to start!” Her work is now shown at local stores and she began creating an online shop at Margie MArtwork which is growing every day. Her latest trend is putting her whimsical artwork on everyday items, such as handbags, stationery and décor. Michals continues to educate herself by taking business course and hopes to create a workshop for other artists to share her marketing skills and to help others make their work profitable. She is an exhibiting member artist of the Wellesley Society of Artists and associate member of the New England Watercolor Society.
As far as her brilliant watercolor painting, Michals has developed her own style of painting and listens to her heart when she paints. She is inspired by animals, nature, architecture and her surroundings to create pieces that will bring a smile to the viewer’s face. “I don’t always follow the rules-I think they can sometimes restrict our creativity. I practice every day and I do what brings me joy….I love when this brings joy to others as well. When I create art, that little girl in me comes out. I have always wanted to create art and connect with people and I am able to do both.”
Michal’s greatest desire is to create a promising future for her children. She hopes that they learn from her to “always start your day with a positive mindset, have faith, never give up and do what makes you happy. Dreams are possible!”
WSA member Michelle Lavallée’s paintings have been included two recent European exhibitions.
Artist Yvonne Posa grew up in New England and attained her BA in Art History at Brown University. Interested in art and architecture, she took a few of the necessary studio art courses during college, but did not begin her own studio art journey for many years. She received her MBA in marketing from the Wharton School and then worked as Commercial Real Estate Loan Officer. She and her husband spent some time working in the Midwest and then returned to New England while raising their three children.
For the past decade, Posa has studied with Andrew Kusmin (AWS, NWS) of Plymouth, MA. Kusmin currently teaches classes on zoom. Kusmin encourages his students to discover their own style or “brush stroke”, and he provides invaluable instruction, especially in improving composition. Posa finds the group critiques in his classes to be the best way to grow. Posa has tried Encaustic Painting and Chinese Brush Painting but her first love has remained watercolor. Her subject matter comes from her photographs taken during travels with her husband, at their home in Maine and of their beloved grandchildren. She admires the work of American artist Mary Whyte and Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla. “When I do portraiture I really try to capture personalities more than anything else…My philosophy is to suggest only as much as is needed and leave the details up to the imagination. I like to convey an emotion that I feel toward the subject.” She also admires less conventional artists such as the late Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ai Wei Wei.
The highlights of her artistic adventures are artist’s workshops, open studios and membership in the WSA. Her teaching job in the Needham Public Schools gave her the summers free to totally immerse herself in the painting process for several days at a time, including attending artist workshops. “To learn and paint with professional artists, the likes of Peter Fiori, John MacDonald, Kathy Anderson, Joe McGurl and Mark Boedges, all had an immense impact” on her artistic ability. Participating in open studios in the area suburbs gave her the experience and opportunity to show her work. As a longtime member of the WSA, she has served as a board member, treasurer and president. Her contributions to this group are immeasurable and she values “being part of an organization that supports artists and the community” as well as the lasting friendships she has made.
