Michelle Arterburn

Artist's Statement:

Studying toward a university degree in civil engineering, I found myself
repeatedly drawn to studio art classes. I was fascinated with the intellectual
challenge attendant to engineering problems while, at the same time, I was
equally taken with the artistic side of projects. And though it very often took me
longer to complete my assignments, so doubly focused was I on both the
technical and the aesthetic aspects of the work, my satisfaction with the results
increasingly depended on how successful I considered my efforts to have been in
bringing together these aspects.

And so today it is still my practice to work in diverse media. In my art I
use a variety of media and very often combine them to create a piece; whether
jewelry, pottery, weaving or painting; combining contrasting elements that are
sometimes rigid and soft or as often fluid and edgy. I find that this is an
appealing and addictive way for me to work. My art is about differences and
how these differences inspire and compliment one another. As a student of
different techniques, my aim is to see how they can be used for other applications
in my work.

I want to know how to do new things and then to know how to combine them in
my work to make my art. I am a jewelry maker and I am a sculptor. I am a
painter in watercolor and oils and I am a weaver. I am a photographer. As much
as anything, I consider my work to be a study in contrasts.