Meet Michelle Jones | Artist

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

Hi Michelle, what is the most important factor behind your success?
For me, the key to success is routine. When I sat a daily routine, it gave me the structure I needed to get the work done. In art, there is an idea that if you make the work, it will take care of itself, and this is for the most part true. When one is the sole manager of one’s time, there can be a floundering. You can do anything, but figuring out what is most important can be tricky. Creating a set structure for painting to occur each day was a game changer.

I go into my studio every day from 8:30-2:30. I set aside Mondays for the business side of my work–applying to shows, grants, residencies, etc. The other days are devoted to painting. I do not schedule other things during this time. What I say no to is as important as the yeses. In honoring my practice, I give my art the time and space it needs to grow.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I moved to the Gulf Coast after more than a decade of living in Boston, MA. While a native Mississippian, the return to the South was a shock to my system. I felt I was regressing by leaving the Northeast, the generally acknowledged art capital of our country, perhaps the world. It seemed there would be less opportunities to show my work and be involved in dialogue with an arts community. That could not have been further from the truth. Since my move, I have had multiple solo exhibitions, shown in group exhibitions, as well as been awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship by the Alabama Council on the Arts.

The landscape of coastal Alabama has shaped my work. The natural world feels more at hand than when I lived in an urban environment. There is extreme beauty to be found. The live oaks canopy the streets. Yards are studded with palm trees and elephant ears. Azaleas teem in the parks. Herons, cranes, and other water birds, as well as alligators, can be found in the marshes of Mobile Bay. There is an invitation into wonder and mystery.

That said, life on the Gulf Coast is fraught with consequence.  We have hurricanes, tornadoes, mold multiplying underneath floorboards and vines pushing through walls; foundations sink and sidewalks buckle.  The land here is aggressively active in trying to keep humans at bay.  What we have created is not natural or sustainable. If we stopped hacking back the overgrowth and shoring up our homes, this place would fall back into the gulf–which feels like on a small scale what is happening on the planet as a whole.

I bring all of this into my paintings by exploring themes of chance, beauty, and escape in parallel to my experience of the world. The landscape a protagonist, the worlds I create highlight the peril of the wilds, the claustrophobia of unattended growth, but also urge one to tumble in, to throw off caution and niceties and give in to the excesses of life without constraints. Civilizations and empires are lost, choked by their own desires and schemes, but nature reimagines itself and carries on, twisting its tentacles around what once was to create what will be.

Change can feel like an ending, but being open to the process can create new possibilities. I did not think that moving across the country to a more remote location would spark my artistic journey, but it decidedly did. Art is about possibility, about finding something new in what you thought you knew, and that is exactly what I did. By shifting my perspective and broadening the parameters of what I thought a life in the arts had to look like, I was able to flourish in my return South. What felt like a return to the old became something entirely new.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I got the pleasure of hosting someone to Mobile, AL, I would cross my fingers that the visit was in the spring when the weather is balmy and the crawfish are in season. First, we would start out early with a morning paddle in kayaks on Mobile bay. Hopefully, we wouldn’t startle the herons, egrets, and cranes that hang out there. After all our efforts on the water, we would grab crawfish and shrimp from Mudbugs and enjoy them on the patio back home. Next on the agenda would be art, so we would bike to Alabama Contemporary Art Center to check out what magic they had cooking in the galleries. The next stop would be Nova Espresso to pick up an iced latte to take for a sit under the mammoth live oaks in Washington Square Park in Oakleigh. After a dinner of raw oysters at BlueGill on the Causeway, we would finish our evening at the Haberdasher with a Jerk Store cocktail, a lovely concoction of gin, ginger liqueur, cucumber, lime, and habanero shrub. If feeling extra lively, head to B-Bob’s for a drag show and dance the night away.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many who have offered support and encouragement along the way. These three specifically helped me to realign my vision as an artist and press on.

Nathan Jones – My husband is a yes man, dream enabler, show installer, problem solver. He consistently encourages me to keep reaching.

Elizabet Elliot – As the director and a curator at Alabama Contemporary Art Center, she actively encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and gave me the space (literally) to try something new.

Christina Renfer Vogel – A colleague and friend, as well as studio mate from graduate school, she is a valued source of wisdom. She is a woman who lifts and supports other women, the kind of person who shares opportunity rather than hoards them. I am grateful for her generosity of spirit.

Website: www.michellejonesstudio.com

Instagram: @trailingmissives

Image Credits
Micah Mermilliod