Meet Michelle Meadow Mortensen | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Meadow Mortensen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle Meadow, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
I’m the mother of two amazing humans—my 15-year-old daughter and my 20-year-old son. It’s so hard to quantify what is the most important thing I’ve done to impact my kids, because having children was the singular most important thing I did to impact myself.

If I had to name it, I would say the most important thing I’ve done is to do everything in my power to be the parent my parents could not be for me. That has meant doing my best to work on my own healing and growth to break the cycles in my family. I strove to become a conscious, present, and gentle parent from the beginning. Motherhood changed everything for me, it has been both the greatest joy of my life and the catalyst of my own evolution.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Like many lifelong artists, I started expressing creativity at a very early age. I was passionately obsessed with animals and horses, nature has always been my greatest muse. I have accepted the idea that I was “born to be an artist”; it’s been a part of my life since I could scribble. But is it that simple? It’s starting to dawn on me that my claim on this identity of Artist/Entrepreneur didn’t necessarily originate because I emerged from the womb naturally talented. Perhaps I am a capital-A Artist because I wanted to prove somebody wrong; perhaps I was born from anger, defiance, and divine feminine rage at being told I shouldn’t or I couldn’t.

I describe my art-aesthetic as vibrant, organic, and intuitive. I adore working with bright colors and paints (either physical or digital) to weave together the natural, the sensual, and the spiritual. I want to blend realism with mysticism, minimalism with detail-ism, and see color pop and flow in a way that I see with my inner eye. My projects range from logos and graphic design for small local wellness-oriented businesses, to my own creations of e-books, oracle cards(in progress), designs, acrylic paintings, and body painting. Recently, I’ve expanded into body painting as a way to cultivate self-love and appreciation for our bodies. My own art keeps me inspired, but working with brands and entrepreneurs excites me just as much. I love helping in the ways I can so that small businesses can grow and thrive.

My family was encouraging of my creativity, but I was always told it should be a “hobby,” and I was constantly pushed to pursue athleticism and academics. But I grew up around my great-grandfather’s beautiful oil paintings, my parents’ castaway art supplies, and the envy my parents expressed of desiring artistic talents. Yet my parents were quick to put me in tennis, dance, science, or Girl Scouts, but not art, which, as paycheck-to-paycheck Boomers, they just wanted to see their daughter succeed in life and not end up a “starving artist.” Even so, I managed to consistently keep a pencil or paintbrush in my hand, become the art teacher’s favorite, be at the top of all of my art classes, and consistently win awards and recognition at art competitions throughout my school years.

Yet by the time I graduated high school, I had internalized the fears and doubts of the many voices surrounding me with these generational beliefs that art wasn’t a sustainable career, and I ended up on a path of studying criminology. In my soul, I knew I wanted to go to art school, and this left me deeply depressed, and I dropped out of college because I had abandoned my truest self. I was filled with anger and suppression over all the years I let these voices influence my directions in life, and I was developing a defiance deep down that would one day erupt volcanically. I needed to give the little girl in me who was told she should only do it as a hobby the life of her dreams instead.

So I took her back to school and graduated with a BA in Fine Art at Evergreen in Olympia, WA, in my mid-thirties, and have been a professional artist ever since. Like, what does that even mean? What is a “Professional Artist”? What defines this in our world? I believe it’s a title we self-identify as; we choose it every day, or don’t choose it. I decided it is who I am, regardless if I have a gig, a sale, or a commission at any given time.

I had never envisioned being the house-wifey, stay-at-home-parent type, but the moment I was handed my premature son I knew I could never give him over to anyone else to raise (as in day care), and I manifested a life to be home with him. Then, when my daughter was born a few years later with extreme medical complications, my full-time 24/7 career was always going to be home with them. I don’t regret a single second of it. Art and creativity never left us, and my children grew up surrounded by art, music, instruments, art supplies, and my partner and I, who supported their individual natures as much as we could.

As much as I cherish being fully present for my children, it came with the sacrifice of stepping away from pursuing an artistic career—or any career—for much of my life. And I can’t claim I’ve overcome all the challenges that come with being an independent artist. But the lesson I hope to pass on is not giving up.

So many things have caused me to alter my path, and giving up was always an option. My journey has dragged me through discouragement, barriers, fear, anger, suffering, loss, and the depths of hopelessness. But it fueled my rising, awakening, courage, empowerment, and led me to experiencing miracles.

I don’t keep getting back up out of ambition, or from tying my worth to my art, or because I’m anything superhuman; I keep going because my kids are watching. As a mother, I know the most powerful lesson I can teach is through example, and I want my children to see what it looks like to never give up on yourself.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Bend, Oregon, and it’s a very special spot in the world indeed! There’s no where better to start in Bend, than Pilot Butte, so you can get to the top and see a 360 degree view of beautiful Central Oregon. We might then swing by the world’s Last Blockbuster, where you get to step back in time about 30 years, be filled with adorable nostalgia, and rent a video — and yes they will still charge you late fee’s…and then you never go back because you still owe them late fee’s.

The next big adventure is to take them on a Deschutes River float. All newbies to Bend must float the river, there is no escaping this. You get to float or paddle down the beautiful gentle river that glides through the middle of the city, past the epic amphitheater where you can listen to the amazing artists that come through town.

Bend is a very prolific beer and cannabis town, so we will visit many a pub or dispensary. I recommend Oregon’s coolest franchise…McMenamin’s. The St. Francis McMenamins has great food, brews…we will enjoy a blackberry cider, and hang out in their heated salt water soaking pool, after I have made you find their secret hidden bar. Then a stop at Tokyo Starfish for some locally grown buds.

We can walk along the Drake Park river trail, or head up to Tumalo Falls for a hike. If we’re up for a little drive, we can take the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and spend the afternoon paddleboarding on one of the lakes.

On Tuesday night we will head to the Bend Ecstatic Dance held weekly downtown to shake the emotions out of our booties. And if it’s a Friday night, we will head to the Cross-Eyed Cricket country bar for some line dancing lessons!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shout out to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. I have so much gratitude and endless love for this institution. Going to Evergreen showed me my own personal power in a way that I’d never been shown. Their integrated studies, their non-traditional assessments and grading system, their incredibly dedicated and involved faculty, and their enchanted forest of a campus, all paved way for me to learn deeply about myself in a new and empowered way.

Website: https://Www.michellemaedow.com

Instagram: @michellemaedow

Image Credits
Bruno Pozo