Artist's Statement:
The human spirit lives, survives, and travels through life in spite of the obstacles and sufferings of existence. This flame or spark of life that is so easily extinguished can also be easily fanned into flames. Our environments and early emotional relationships form the framework of life, and can both foster and hinder our development as human beings. These emotional, familial, and spiritual relationships are critical in forming a sense of self and of belonging, and ultimately our understanding of the world.
I work with the figure because of its visual familiarity and because of its uncompromising presence when it exists in space with us. Clay is the material for the figure because of the qualities it embodies in wet, dry, and fired states, which can represent the vulnerable and malleable stages in human life. Wet clay is a metaphor for the spiritual potential in human beings for growth and a possible “molding” of one’s life into something beautiful and substantial.
Bio:
Elaina Wendt Michalski, a Kansas City native, received her M.F.A. degree from the University of Florida in 2004 and her B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2000. Her recent work includes life-size fired and unfired clay figures, found objects and video projections. She has taught art at Rockhurst University, Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City Art Institute, and Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts high school. She is currently an artist mentor for the MyARTS program for city teens and continues to exhibit her artwork nationally. From 2009 to 2010, she participated in the Urban Culture Project Studio Residency Program sponsored by the Charlotte Street Foundation. In January of 2011 she was awarded an ArtsKC Inspiration Grant by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.
I work with the figure because of its visual familiarity and because of its uncompromising presence when it exists in space with us. Clay is the material for the figure because of the qualities it embodies in wet, dry, and fired states, which can represent the vulnerable and malleable stages in human life. Wet clay is a metaphor for the spiritual potential in human beings for growth and a possible “molding” of one’s life into something beautiful and substantial.
Bio:
Elaina Wendt Michalski, a Kansas City native, received her M.F.A. degree from the University of Florida in 2004 and her B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2000. Her recent work includes life-size fired and unfired clay figures, found objects and video projections. She has taught art at Rockhurst University, Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City Art Institute, and Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts high school. She is currently an artist mentor for the MyARTS program for city teens and continues to exhibit her artwork nationally. From 2009 to 2010, she participated in the Urban Culture Project Studio Residency Program sponsored by the Charlotte Street Foundation. In January of 2011 she was awarded an ArtsKC Inspiration Grant by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.
