Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Michelle Lee Rigell is a St. Louis-based contemporary realism artist who works in acrylics and watercolor.Rigell attended Vanderbilt University, where she received her BA in Asian Studies and Neuroscience with the goal to attend medical school. Although she does not have any formal education in art, Rigell began painting when she was four years old under the instruction of Atlanta-based artist, Penelope Van der Putten, and received her first set of oil paints when she was eight.Since 2015, Rigell has shown her work in several locations in the Greater St. Louis area including Angad Arts Hotel, Art Saint Louis and Duane Reed Gallery. Rigell volunteers as an instructor and is the associate director for the Arts As Healing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that brings therapeutic benefits of art to cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses. Rigell has also participated in several art fundraisers such as Wall Ball for Artscope, Art of PAWS presented by Purina and the Very Asian Foundation Creators Grant. She has been featured on platforms such as The Jealous Curator, PxP Contemporary and Carve Out Time For Art and in publications such as St. Louis Post-Dispatch and AcrylicWorks7 by Artists Magazine.
Since 2016, I have been working on a project called the "1000 Crane Project" because of my childhood love for origami. When I wasn't drawing or painting, I was constantly folding origami. Cranes are also a symbol of good fortune, happiness and longevity in Korean culture. I decided on the title because of the legend that 1000 cranes could grant a person one wish or even eternal happiness. Cranes have been an apt subject matter in my life because rediscovering my passion for painting began as a way to cope with my miscarriages and difficulties with infertility. I am a firm believer that art can provide healing, and I want to be able to help others heal by providing a sense of sentimentality and humor through my art process and experiences.
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