Squeeze

A rose drawing from 2009. Drawn from a real wild rose, squeezing it's way into existence through the cracks of concrete.

Accompanying Short Story...
Sometimes, we grow in the most awkward of circumstances. It shows how stubborn we are, how desperate we are to survive, at least, I'm desperate. My roots were smothered by concrete, bricked in so that I could never see a crack of light or feel the sun my face as I turn to watch the sunset. The world changed though, after time passed, the foundations moved and as if by a miracle, the concrete in my way cracked just enough that I could squeeze through. Stubbornly I bloomed, never quite escaping my concrete prison, instead I squeezed myself to adapt to it. As I grew, adapting to its shape, I realized I'd done something I'd never imagined. I'd grown in the harshest of environments and I'd grown so used to the sun that without knowing it, I had succeeded and become so focused on achieving my goal that I'd forgotten to enjoy it.

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Michelle J Kowalczyk is an artist living and working in Regional Victoria where she draws inspiration from the world around her. Her artistic practice blends traditional and contemporary techniques and media to explore the natural world around us and our emotional connections to that world. Nature, conflicts of perception versus reality, and the layered, interwoven colors of human emotion are central themes that form the foundation of her explorations. These explorations are expressed through drawings, oil paintings and mixed media artworks that have been shown in numerous exhibitions over the years. Michelle’s artistic practice may be diverse, but her aesthetic creations always aim to capture the balance, symmetry and beauty through the considered use of shape, tone, colour and texture. These creations are motivated by the stories they represent and the complexity of beauty and reality that they portray through a unique balance of contrasting elements, allowing Michelle to explore the surface beauty and its underlying complexity.

Michelle’s dedication to the arts is reflected in her daily art practice as well as being an integral part of her lifestyle, which includes artist workshops and writing. She is a strong believer that creativity is not something that should be limited, it should be encouraged in every area of life.

Her artworks are priced differently based on size, materials used, time spent and how emotionally attached the artist is to that particular artwork. Some artworks are just so hard to let go of.