Day In The Life // Artist, Caroline Michaud
This week we are following mixed media artist Caroline Michaud to see what a day in her life is like.
All photos provided by Caroline Michaud
How do you start off your day?
As a mixed media artist, I usually start off my day trying to imagine every possible item or supply I may need to have on hand. I love finding uses for things that are usually discarded or not traditionally used in art-making. I love all things shiny, sparkly, plastic, and colorful. So before I even get to the studio I try to anticipate all the directions the work may lead me in.
What was your big project for the day?
I'm currently working on my final installation for my BFA presentation at the end of the semester. I'm creating a wall of bulletin boards similar to the one you probably had in your room as teenager, covered in in personal ephemera, photos, drawings, and strange objects. It's a work in progress, but today I was figuring out different uses for tinsel I scavenged from the recycling center and party supply stores.
Was there anything big you accomplished?
Working on a large project means that everything happens a bit incrementally, but today I finalized the number of boards and the the schematic for how they will be installed on the gallery wall. It just looks like a bunch of rectangles on paper, but it's the first visual representation of what the final product will look like, so it's really exciting. I can't wait to see it all come together, but the process is great too, so the next few weeks will be interesting.
Did you face any challenges today?
The heat in the studio wasn't working! Roger Williams University provided us with a beautiful space on the third floor of the old Byfield School in Bristol this year, but the building is rather old and the heating just wasn't making it up from the basement! After about 2 hours working with maintenance they finally got it on again, but that was the worst.
Did you do anything fun?
Everyday in the studio is fun! Even with no heat, I know I'm really lucky that I get to spend my days being creative and working alongside other really interesting, imaginative people. Plus everyone covered me in tinsel and I pretended to be Swamp Thing, which was awesome.
