Crystal Michielsen

Pyrography artist Crystal Michielsen tells us about her practice:

ART MAKER: What is the central theme or concept that drives your current body of work?

CRYSTAL MICHIELSEN: Eight years ago, I arrived in India to live in an international community that’s dedicated to the growth of consciousness. It’s a place that believes in human unity in diversity, unending education, constant progress, and a youth that never ages. That experience changed me completely, it cracked something open inside and set me on a very personal inner journey.

My current body of work is really an expression of that journey. I’m exploring the deeper questions that live in me: Who am I, really? What is behind what we see? Is there a sacred power or intelligence moving through everything? Do I belong and to what?

There’s a strong sense in me that the answers to these questions can’t be fully understood with the thinking mind. Maybe they can only be felt and sensed – through the heart, the soul, our emotions. I’m searching for that space behind form, that quiet energy beneath everything, and my art helps me stay connected to it. It’s not about trying to explain or define anything… it’s more about sensing, feeling, and staying open to the mystery of it all.

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ART MAKER: What role does experimentation play in your practice? Have any “mistakes” led to new discoveries?

CRYSTAL MICHIELSEN: Experimentation plays a huge role in my work. I’m always curious about the range and the limits of the materials I use. But are there really limits? Or are they just shaped by my own experience up until now? Sometimes I get the feeling that what I can do with them is only 10% of what’s actually possible. Big question mark there.

I usually work in a very detailed, precise way, but every now and then, especially after finishing a full body of work, I give myself permission to break that rhythm. I dive into painting with all kinds of materials, bigger gestures, and a sense of letting go. I allow myself to make a mess, to not know, to follow whatever wants to come through.

Read more of Crystal's beautiful interview in >> ART MAKER Issue 1.

Crystal Michielsen, Expanding Forces, 2024, 36 in x 28 in, pyrography on mixed media with acrylics, bister and ink. Images courtesy of the artist.