Michelle Henning 

Artist Statement

My work consists of drawing, painting, and printmaking based on studies from life. I draw my inspiration and sources from nature and am interested in how that informs my creation of mark-making, shapes, and form. A large factor of that influence is the presence of mathematical formulae in nature. References and evidence of divine numbers (for example Fibonacci) and Numerology are of endless interest to me as they are often apparently visible in the design and pattern of flora and fauna. This becomes even more interesting to me if it is not so readily visible. It is not the preciseness of the numbers/formulae that I seek to reproduce in my drawings but rather represent the feeling that they inspire in me in their beauty and perfection, which is oftentimes the opposite of rigid perfection, instead: random, curving, and flowing. I look forward to the organic discoveries that are invariably unveiled with any intense study of natural form.

When drawing I use loose charcoal and denatured alcohol as a solvent to set a base for the drawings. I strive to push and pull the forms and shapes out of the base, using line (varied, broken, weighted, or contour), value, and mark-making with charcoal (pressed and vine), and erasure. When painting I use traditional oil paint, water-soluble oil paints, or oil bar on canvas.