Tanya Mikaela

"Collage mirrors life - layer, layer, layer… peel some back and layer some more. Every day is fresh, always something new to nudge it forward. What feels right one day might get covered up the next. That’s cool, stay in the flow, free the mind and trust! There are no mistakes so just keep tearing and layering. Don’t look back or try to repeat - allow the newness - allow it to show me what it wants to be - allow for surprise and delight. Release attachment to what it is in any way or to details along the way. Never let anything become so precious that the good of the whole cannot be served. Just… allow! It’s got to feel good so, If that’s not happening take a break and go do something fun! Then, return with fresh eyes and ask, what’s next? Breathe, listen and be light. This is a dance, a partnership, co-creation at it’s best! In the end, it will all be perfectly imperfect. Life is like that. Suddenly - all those dazzling bits of pattern and color magically weave together, alchemizing brilliantly into something whole and new. My heart is full. There is a knowing. This is when it tells me it’s finally okay to fall in love and then… to step back and set it free.”

~Tanya Mikaela

Raised by creatives in a thriving artists community, Tanya Mikaela has been an artist since birth. She received a BFA from Parsons School of Design, is a member of Collage Artists of America, Los Angeles Experimental Artist Group and is an artist-in-residence at Ten Women Gallery in Santa Monica. Her work has been shown, honored, and collected coast to coast, and her collage of Obama was featured in the Manifest Hope show in D.C. (coordinated by Shepard Fairey) for the 2009 Inaugural events. It's now a part of the book, 'Art for Obama'. She is the recipient of numerous awards, and has been interviewed for various publications. Her greatest pleasure comes from combining reclaimed materials to express her spiritual visions through her artwork. In addition to being an artist, Tanya is a licensed Spiritual Practitioner, teacher and author.