Michele Michael

When Elephant Props founder Michele Michael couldn’t find the tabletop items she was looking for, she made her own. Now, in addition to running her prop house with husband Patrick Moore, Michele creates stunning handmade ceramics. She uses saturated colors like indigo and robin’s egg blue, while incorporating textures of homespun linen to make the designs pop. Her painterly approach to finishing each piece by dripping, pouring, and brushing a colorful glaze creates an unexpected play of transparencies. Get a glimpse of Michele’s inspiration in her 10 ANSWERS below, and then get your own Michele masterpiece at her new online shop.

1. How would you describe your work in three words?
Painterly,  textural and handmade.

2. Who is your creative role model?
Women who throughout history have handmade and handsewn functional and decorative
items for themselves, and their families, including my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother.

3. If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it?
I’d like to cook more elaborate meals, but I would probably end up sleeping an extra hour.

4. What place in the world most inspires you and why?
The American West, especially Utah, for it’s vastness and surreal natural beauty.

5. If you could do a different job for a day what would it be and why?
A race car driver.  I would love to drive a vintage Sunbeam Tiger.  It was the car driven by Maxwell Smart in the TV series and was once billed as the worlds fastest car with the smallest engine.

6. What is your favorite homemade gift to give?
A berry pie.

7. What is your favorite object in your home?
A tiny book about birds that my husband, Patrick Moore, illustrated and handmade.

8. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Writing a daily list of things to do and checking them off as they get done.  It’s very satisfying.

9. What websites do you use for inspiration?
My current favorite sites are the following blogs: Danish photographer Ditte Isager,
Lovenordic Design and Lotta Agaton.  I seem to be on a Nordic kick.

10. When do you consider a piece of your work complete?
When it comes out of the kiln intact and I’m happy to see how it’s turned out, whether or not I envisioned it that way!