About Michelle Marilyn Trares
I was gifted at birth with the ability to paint and draw. I see and feel the essence of God, His peace, and His love in nature and when I look into space above. I have a desire to recreate the mystery, comfort, peace and spiritual energy I find there. These experiences, as well as spending most of my life in the country and nature, inspire my art. All of this plays a vital role in the creation of my work.
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In 2009 I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Bowling Green State University with a major in Painting and Art Education. After graduating I found myself faced with a lot of health challenges for the next couple years that also took a toll mentally and emotionally, effecting my art work. For some time, I felt I wasn’t expressing myself to my full potential like I desired
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Mandala Series:
In the winter of 2016, while spending some time at Vibrant Health Institute fasting and healing, I overcame many fears and mental blocks. This allowed a rebirth of my art. I started drawing mandalas instead of my usual hyper realistic paintings, which can be challenging. I decided that I was going to draw whatever I wanted in the moment with no goal in mind, just like I used to daily as a child, without self-judgment or criticism. I began drawing and felt lost in the moment and in a peaceful meditative state just like I was as a child. When I have no goal in mind or fear of my work being imperfect, it flows effortlessly.
What came out surprised me. Each pattern when repeated doesn’t always look exactly symmetrical to its copy next to it, but that doesn’t matter. In the end those details that seem imperfect are in fact not flaws, but perfect. They come together to create a flawless and authentic expression of myself in the moment.
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Current Work:
Galactic Ocean came into existence through my desire to feel completely free in the present moment with paint. For many years I have felt an intense attraction to the deep vastness and mystery of the ocean and our universe yet have always had trouble finding a way to convey that feeling.
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I had seen other artists create with acrylic pouring and epoxy resin and felt drawn to the playfulness and the freedom in expression that flows through to the surface. As my desire to become even less confined by boundaries and details grew I felt less drawn to my detailed mandalas and more interested in experimenting with this new technique I had been observing.
During the process of experimentation, I began to feel less restricted with the paint and found more of the free flowing movement I desired. I could control the colors I mixed and where I placed them, but after some smearing and manipulating, the rest was up to the paint as it blended and moved the way it wanted to after I had guided it to a certain point and let go. I related this feeling of only having so much control and the way the paint freely flowed to the vast unknown and flow of both the ocean and the universe. The deep and endless boundaries of space and the ocean make me feel so small and that I have little control yet I am drawn to it. In this realization, liberation comes and I let go, then flow with the unknown and have faith in the path God has set before me. In this letting go I find freedom, both in life and in the creation process. Jumping into the unknown is scary at first, with so many possibilities and outcomes. Yet both the break- through and process of giving up control is worth it every time.
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