Artist Bio

Michelle Helen Phaneuf is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist who works across various media, including collage, textiles, mixed media, and paint. Her practice ranges from creating large-scale immersive installations to producing small, intimate pieces.

Themes and Focus

Born in the U.S., Phaneuf creates thought-provoking artwork centered on the theme of disability. Specifically, she explores her personal experience with invisible neurological symptoms and strongly advocates for a better understanding of chronic migraine disorder. 

Professional Practice and Upcoming Work

Her art has been exhibited in local businesses and showcased in the North River Arts Society Juried Show. Phaneuf continuously broadens her professional practice, investigating familiar visual patterns using new techniques and materials.

Her future projects include integrating self-portraiture into her work on chronic migraine disorder. This new work aims to connect the visual patterns she perceives during neurological episodes with patterns found in historical religious art and architecture.

Art Education

Outside of her studio practice, Michelle teaches art to high school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is dedicated to helping them build confidence in their self-expression and creative decision-making.

As a lifelong admirer of art history, Michelle emphasizes the fundamental human impulse to create, drawing connections between her students' work and our global artistic heritage. Her curriculum focuses on skill building through the practice of fine and gross-motor skills to enhance students' muscle strength, dexterity, visual-motor skills, and bilateral coordination.