After experiencing a series of misfortunes, artist Michelle Lee felt disconnected from life and sought a higher purpose. Experiencing the duality in life—from light to dark, soft to sharp, good to bad—she found wholeness in a range of holistic practices. Her quest led to the self-discovery of her art always being about building connection. An eye-opening moment came when she attended a workshop and noticed that all other students in the class were retired.

“I decided I wasn’t waiting until I retired to live my dream,” Michelle relates. In 2015, she gave up her branding and web design business to pursue art. She opened her studio, Michelle Lee Arts, where she offers original artwork, prints and commissions, as well as YogART and tantra workshops for personal transformation.

Michelle’s first major exhibit, The Kiss Project, which she started in 2017, was another turning point. “It stemmed from the political divisiveness of the 2016 election. Suddenly, families and political parties were at odds, so I thought ‘what do I do with this, besides be angry?’ I took that angst and turned it into a project showing how we all love the same.” 

Each day for 21 days, Michelle drew romantic portraits of couples kissing. Soliciting people to send snapshots on Facebook, she compiled a whole album of portraits. Upon completion, people voted for their favorites. She then turned the winners into paintings, and the whole project into an exhibit. She’s now getting ready to launch her second series in The Kiss Project, and will once again be asking for public submissions through social media.

The Kiss Project sparked Michelle’s passion to share the healing power of art and holistic wisdom. She had long practiced yoga and meditation, which led her to become the only licensed YogART Facilitator on the East Coast, offering sacred workshops that combine mind, body and spirit work to achieve personal transformation.

“It’s a combination of exercises and rituals,” she explains. “The yoga portion is designed to help connect with the body. There’s creative visualization where I take people on an inner journey all their own. We create chakra mandalas to get people out of their heads and into the flow. They’re not necessarily pretty mandalas—I’m not teaching them to make art—but rather guiding them into spontaneous creation that makes the internal, external.”

YogART helps people with self-healing, removes blockage, increases intuition and can transform many other aspects of their lives, Michelle says. The next YogART workshop is May 21, at The Banana Factory in Bethlehem. 

Leading YogART workshops is just as rewarding for Michelle as it is for her students. “It’s a self-reflective process of deep inquiry as they work through chakra energy. And the best part is the mutual learning that goes back and forth between me and the students.”

Last summer, Michelle traveled to Portugal to become certified as a tantra yoga teacher and tantra ritual facilitator.  She notes that some people associate tantra yoga with sexuality, but classical tantra is spiritual, it’s more about sensual, embodied connection. She focuses on guiding people deep into their energy and awareness, increasing connection with their inner selves, with each other and with the divine.

“Tantra teaches that there’s no separation between us and the world. We are all one, all connected. In our modern society, we’ve strayed so far from that and are often wounded by feeling so alone,” Michelle observes. “But we also have tremendous power to look deep within and not just feel, but truly experience that connection to all.”

Michelle’s introductory session, “A Taste of Tantra”, launches May 13 at Pole Dance Fitness, in Scranton. Another session will be held June 3 at Balance Yoga, in Forty Fort. Each of these to be followed by a series of unique ritual practices, offering a whole realm of inner wonder to explore.

Michelle uses art and workshops to bring others into the flow, a higher state of mind that enables positive change, toward growth and empowerment. When immersed in a creative process, one loses sense of time and space. “Art takes you back to childhood. We all start out as artists but society tells us ‘to limit ourselves to its expectations.’ But you can still follow your dreams. The world is not as rigid of a structure as we think it is. To live our best lives, the choice is ours which path to take.”

Michell Lee Arts is based in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania. For more information, call 570-443-7777 or visit MichelleLeeArts.com.