COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The studio of Colorado Springs artist Michelle Bracewell is stacked high with salvaged treasures, trinkets, and scraps of the past all waiting to be transformed and given new stories through the process of an art style known as mixed media assemblage.
Bracewell, a lifelong artist, has always had a passion for searching out all things secondhand and spellbinding; about 13 years ago, she started combining that passion with her need for artistic expression.
"I'm going to thrift stores, flea markets, but primarily estate sales," commented Bracewell, "on the weekends, I'm hitting estate sales almost every weekend looking for treasures, looking for things that speak to me that I can turn into something fantastical."
Each acquired treasure returns to the studio, is stashed away amongst her years of other finds, and waits to be incorporated into a new piece of art.
Each piece is its own quirky, joyful journey – often long, always worth it – and no two are ever alike. That keeps me learning, tinkering, and experimenting with new techniques and tools.
The process goes far beyond simply sticking pieces together; Bracewell utilizes clay, paint, and power tools (and other things) to achieve the transformations and new stories she's pursuing.
"I don't know, I look at these old pieces" said Bracewell, "and I sometimes can just see the history in them and how they were used, and it breaks my heart to know they're just going to get discarded. So when I transform them, they're given a new life, and that just excites the heck out of me."
If you would like to see more of Michelle Bracewell's work, you can head over to her website or visit the art gallery located underneath Platte Furniture where some of her work is displayed.
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