Issue #8 Featured Artist: Michelle Noa
“On Art”
by Michelle Noa
Noa, Michelle. Gulf of Mexico. Acrylic on wood (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Art is a beautiful thing. My relationship with art has always been a struggle between doing what I love and believing it is essential. As an artist, how do I contribute to my family and the world around me? It is one thing to have a talent that you enjoy, but it's another thing to try to use that talent to feed your family and make a difference. I call art talent, but it's considerably more than that because it's the essence of who I am. I can't be anything other than an artist. Therefore, I take great care to be authentic to myself, my family, and the people that I meet in my store every day.
“I call art talent, but it’s considerably more than that because it’s the essence of who I am.”
Nature is my true love and inspiration for all of my artwork. I love to be outdoors in the fresh air, my soul soars when I am surrounded by nature and all of its beauty. Every detail is purposeful and perfect, I believe that there is absolutely a master creator, as there is no such thing as random perfection. To me, God is everywhere, I feel honored to be able to see Him in nature and blessed to feel His presence. He has given me an amazing lens to view the natural world, and I am inspired and driven to duplicate its beauty.
Noa, Michelle. Humpback Whales. Fused glass (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Noa, Michelle. Sea Turtles. Fused glass (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Owning a business that sells local art with my best friend has been a wonderful experience for me. It's a dream to be able to do what I absolutely love and make a little bit of money selling my artwork along the way. It is very fulfilling to show my kids what it means to live your life pursuing your passion, but I have to admit that I want more. I want my work to be purposeful and to have an impact on others.
Noa, Michelle. St. Paul. Stained glass and wood (2020). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Noa, Michelle. Clay Crab and Shrimp. Clay (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Noa, Michelle. Sea Turtles and Jellyfish. Acrylic on Wood (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Noa, Michelle. Tree of Life. Multimedia (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about our business and my role there, soul searching if you will, and I have concluded that I am not in business for the money (don't tell my business partners...haha). My goals are not money-oriented; instead, they are about the connection and relationships that I have with our artists and customers. I can't tell you how many times we have had someone walk into our store who just needed to talk. We have wonderful conversations where we laugh until it hurts, and we have had to comfort others as they shed tears because they were going through a hard time. I never imagined that owning a business would connect me emotionally to so many people. I'm glad that it does because it gave me my purpose; to offer kindness and compassion to everyone that I meet.
“How can I influence my family and the world around me with art? Maybe I can’t, but I can take a gift that God has given to me and try my best to depict His beauty.”
At this point in my life, I am becoming the best version of myself. I owe my peace and happiness to Christ, as He started to transform me when I put Him in the center of my life. Talking about Jesus feels very vulnerable to me, He is very fresh in my life, and I know the doubt that people often feel towards religion. I have been there myself, but I can honestly say that the relationship has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with His Grace and love. Jesus is much more simple than I ever realized.
How can I influence my family and the world around me with art? Maybe I can't, but I can take a gift that God has given to me and try my best to depict His beauty. Perhaps someone will see what I see and feel what I feel when I look at the world around me. I hope that I inspire others with my artwork, whether it be a painting, stained glass window, photo, sculpture, or whatever else I can get my hands on. I hope to inspire people with my thoughts, words, and interactions with them even more important. Kindness impacts the soul, and I hope that people see the person behind the artwork because it's the human connection that truly makes our life beautiful.
Inspiration paddle (2016). Photo courtesy of Michelle Noa.
Resources
We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.
The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.
And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.
Read. Engage. Enjoy!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.”
So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there!