Mark Michels Inspired Paintings

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Mark Michels was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was employed for 27 years with Delta and Northwest as a flight attendant, calling his home base at that time Detroit, Michigan, but also living in Boston, MA, Virginia and more. Now, back in Minneapolis, Mark has been joining us here at Interact for only a few months and he has proven to be a very talented addition to our artistic group, working primarily in acrylic paint. Recently we have expanded upon his traditional medium and applied it to the jewelry arts as well. Salvador Dali and Picasso are two of Marks favorite artists, which can be seen in his unique style of painting. When Mark gets into his painting mode, his work flows out of him in a very natural way. He is uninhibited and allows for his paintings to happen organically, creating beautiful, lush and prolific pieces. Mark believes that Interact is a very laid back place, which is what he wants. He feels he doesn't get so hung up on things that don't matter, which in turn allows him to produce his artwork in a very freeing environment. He also enjoys the social aspect of Interact, in particular getting to know such diverse artists that have so many great and different attributes from each other. Mark believes Interact is a very unique place and believes word should get out about it more and more. Here, here, Mark!

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Interact Centers Visual Arts and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts combine for Northern Spark Festival

Interact Center’s visual arts department has recently had the great pleasure of working with Patty Mitchell and Robert Lockheed, of Collaborative Art International, who are currently Artists in Residence at Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) for the Northern Spark Festival. On June 9th, 2012 you can visit the MIA and see the incredible amount of work that our artists did in collaboration with Patty and Robert, from painted panels that make up the “Palace of Wonders” towers to decorated fabric that has found its way into numerous beautiful quilts (these are not your grandmothers quilts, folks:). Please come out and see what our inventive troops have created. Northern Spark Festival is on June 9th at 9pm to dawn. Find out more at 2012.northernspark.org.

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Lucy’s Lovely Bird Neclace


Possessing the desire to create, Lucy Johnson joined Interact Studio in 2008.Lucy works predominantly in oil pastel, acrylic and watercolor, but she is open to experimenting in all mediums, and enjoys jewelry making and fine crafting as well.  This beautiful necklace is one of Lucy’s latest creations.  She hand felted not only each of the felted beads, but also the bird that is the centerpiece of this gorgeous piece of artwork.

Lucy’s 2d work, bold in color and often eliciting a surrealist feel, is driven by her expansive imagination, evident even in her portraiture, which has kept her busy over the past year.  In 2011, she was commissioned to do a portrait of Interact founder and artistic director Jeanne Calvit, which

was featured on the invitation for Interact’s first annual benefit.  Lucy also created giant paper mache puppers of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera for Interact’s first Uniquinox festival last year.  She is an incredible self-promoter and her prolific body of work speaks for itself, in addition to the numerous commissions she has received over the past year.
Most recently, Lucy was commissioned to design the labels for a line of spicescreated by her sister, Minnesota Nice Spice. Over the years, Lucy’s self-assuredness and dedication to her artistry have led her to be one of Interact’s most notable artists.
Check back soon to see more of Lucy’s work!