About the Artist

Michèle Landsaat is a writer and illustrator whose work explores the symbolic world hidden beneath the surface of visual perception. Her stories speak to an underlying and universal vulnerability, yet they are simultaneously whimsical in nature. Every component of her books is significant, such that the process, materials and design are metaphors for the actual content. The alchemical and slow process of creating illustrations using the technique of etching mirrors her approach to storytelling. There is something unpredictable and transformative that happens during the process of creating both a written story and an etching. Invariably, each invigorates the other in unexpected ways. Tiny pieces of cut paper adhered during the printing process (chine collé) create subtle tones and contribute to the delicacy and fragility of the imagery.

Michèle currently lives in Seattle, WA. She is the recipient of a 2018 4Culture Projects Grant, third prize in the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award Original Illustration Exhibition, the 2017 Larry Sommers Merit Award, a City Arts Magazine 2017 Summer Art Walk award winner, the 2016-2017 Pratt/Seattle Print Arts Partners Grant, and a 2016 Artist Trust Grants for Artist Projects recipient.

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