Michelle was born in Lawrence and raised in Kansas City by an artist father and creative mother. She began her undergraduate program at Tulane University in New Orleans and then transferred to the University of Kansas in 1978, where she received her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing. It was during this time that Michelle fell in love with enameling under the instruction of Olli Valanni. Married in her junior year to a loving artist and firefighter, they soon became parents following graduation. Michelle put off her art career to raise her family but often dreamed of getting back to her art. By 1998 the last of her three children was old enough to allow her to get to work. She started with simple beading, quickly developing a more complicated style and winning a couple of awards for the work she was producing. Her heart was still enamored with the delights of enameling and she used the proceeds from a previous commission to develop an enameling studio. Michelle is now able to play with metal and the use of color and light to the fullest extent. A passion, fulfilled!