Conversations with the Inspiring Michele Messenger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Messenger.

Michele, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am an encaustic painter and a graphic designer. The first is what I do for fun and to add to my income; the second is what I do for fun and to be my income. Because I work all day on projects for other people (which I love!), I’ve found that I really enjoy working on my own projects to help keep me balanced. Encaustic painting was something I saw at various art shows but didn’t know what it was. Maybe the fourth or fifth time I saw it, I finally asked what it was and if I could touch it (encaustic begs to be touched and, for the most part, is perfectly happy to be touched). That artist was Victoria Eubanks and we quickly bonded. I ended up taking a one-day encaustic workshop with her and knew I’d found something that was a little quirky, different and suited for someone who isn’t a super-skilled artist in any kind of traditional sense. Within a year, Victoria was teaching more workshops at Art Students League of Denver, so I took her class and then another with Patricia Aaron. Shortly after that, Victoria asked if I would be her assistant when she taught at ASLD. Not only was a perfect friendship cemented, but the beginning of my artistic career as well. Now, I assist in seven or eight workshops each year, run the encaustic open studios as ASLD, show in Westward Gallery in Denver, and participate in at least two Denver-area art markets each year. I also enter various gallery shows and have great success selling the pieces that are accepted. I feel joyfully balanced and so incredibly lucky to have found my people. In wax. Have I mentioned encaustic is painting with wax?

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been quite a smooth road. I’m happy to say that! I started in retail, then fell into a career in marketing, which led to my design business, which has allowed me to play, and thrive in art-making!

Because I see a lot of people taking art classes, some for the first time, and talking to people at art markets, I feel like I also do a lot of cheerleading in encouraging people to try. To try a class, to try a medium, to try. Everyone is creative; it’s just a muscle that needs to be worked out. It’s almost always worth trying a new medium, even if you suck at it. Because at least you get to laugh about it! And then, try something else.

In life, my advice comes not from me, but from my friend Elaine. She says to have friends as old as your mother and as young as your daughter. She is right. There will be a time in your life where it is possible to have friends at both ends of the range at the same time. Cultivate that. It grounds you at the beginning and keeps you young at the end.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
Encaustic painting is a centuries-old technique. Just like watercolor painting is water and pigment or oil painting is oil and pigment, encaustic is wax and pigment. (Beeswax with a little damar resin mixed in.) But unlike those mediums, wax needs to be applied with it is liquid or heated, so we work on griddles with little tins of colored wax. Our palette basically comes from the kitchen — a pancake griddle with small bread tins! We work on wood, most often. A substrate that is both porous and rigid. With paintbrushes, we layer some wax medium and then fuse that to the wood. We use heat to fuse — either a heat gun designed to strip paint (!) or a blow torch (!!). Then, we put on another layer and fuse. Then, we put on another layer and fuse. And keep going. The wax allows you to carve in, add to, embed, scrape back, fill in…on and on! Unlike any of the other paint media, wax doesn’t dry, it cools. So, it is basically ready for the next layer immediately, especially on colder days. This is the way I work and the way I was taught, but there are many other approaches to encaustic. I may be a wee bit biased, but there seems to be more diversity in approaches in encaustic compared to other media. And that is mostly because you can do so many things with it. It can be translucent; it can be opaque. It can be thin with just one layer; it can be thick with 20. And that’s just the beginning.

I also need to mention that I couldn’t have this art career without the Art Students League of Denver. Their mission is to take anyone at any level and help build solid artistic skills, wherever you are and wherever you want to take it.

It is such a welcoming community and I am thrilled to be a student and a volunteer and to call it my ‘home.’

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I think the secret to networking is to not look for people who can help you but to look for people you can help. It will eventually come full circle, but until it does, you’re out there, you’re doing something helpful, you are contributing and you are making a community. I used to belong to an advertising trade organization and after a year or so, I was going to quit — I didn’t find it interesting enough or find enough of my people. And then, I thought: there are 1000 people in this organization, surely “mine” are here! So, before I quit, I joined a committee. That way I could say I really tried before I dumped the whole organization. Not surprisingly, once I gave a little, I got a ton back. And it turned out to be the source of many fantastic experiences, beloved friendships that are still going strong 25 years later, and nearly all of my graphic design clients. All I had to do was turn “what can they do for me” to “what can I do for them.”

Contact Info:

• Website: onelmichele.net
• Email: michele@oneldesign.com
• Instagram: michele03messenger

Image Credit:
Michele Messenger

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