Like opening a cupboard stuffed with color and possibility, stepping into Michelle Mischkulnig’s world feels like discovering a lifelong love affair with making.
Raised among fabrics, threads, and the hum of a sewing machine, Michelle creates art that dances with joy, memory, and movement. She follows her instincts, layering color and texture until each piece “sings,” inviting us to see the magic in everyday moments and to believe that creativity lives inside us all.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, and what first sparked your love of making things?
I love creating; it is the child within me that has survived and flourished over my whole life.
I grew up in a house where making was valued. My mother and grandmother were dressmakers; I was always surrounded by fabric. My mother’s sewing machine was central in the living room, always ready to be used, and we even had a designated craft room.
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I guess I was brought up to think that if I wanted something, I would be encouraged to make it, and this even included shoes with car tyres cut out for soles. Fabrics and textiles filled the hallway cupboard; opening the door was a treasure trove. I grew up in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and was always drawn to making.
Your work often feels joyful and expressive. Is that a conscious goal when you begin a piece?
Creating is the sheer joy of making something that comes from deep within me and which sings my song and tells the story of my passion.
Before a child speaks, it sings
Before they write, they paint
As soon as they stand, they dance
Art is the basis of human expression.
—Phyliicia Rashad
Each artwork I create is full of the magic that is in our world. I am so privileged to live this life of creativity. I have a strong belief that everybody is creative, and creativity has endless forms.
Mine is visual, for some it is how they manage people, how they dance, how they nurse the sick, how they plant their garden, arrange flowers, or cook a meal. We need to acknowledge that we are all creative and welcome creativity into our lives.
Let go of the fears of failure or at least move those fears to another place in your mind where, you know they are acknowledged but unable to conquer or interfere with your creativity.
Your work is full of colour, texture, and movement. How would you describe your artistic voice today?
I want my artworks to bring joy to the viewer through colour, texture, and movement. They are not an actual depiction but are a result of all that I see, all that I feel, and all that I hear. My art works come from my heart, head, and hands, from collected memories of where we have travelled and where we wish to travel, both real and imagined.
Colour is very important to me. It alters emotions and tells a story of the person we are; we are surrounded by colour in this beautiful country of ours. Colour is intuitive for me, I don’t procrastinate, I just dive in and swim around pulling colours in that swirl, and I’m immersed in the moment. I love the colours of the sea, the colours of the earth, and the colours of the sky, dashes of yellow and orange, vivacious pinks and rainforest greens.
Colour and movement help bring joy to an artwork, but it also portrays the energy of the artist. I am not a political artist, a realist, or a landscape artist. I am an artist who loves nothing more than making people smile and feeling the joy of life. When I create pieces of art, they come from a passion, a memory, a beautiful place or places I have visited, from things that make me happy.
I always feel I have succeeded as an artist when somebody tells me how my artwork made them smile or helped in healing them through a tough time. As an artist, I can ask for nothing more.
And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
—Rohald Dahl
You often say inspiration comes from everyday life. What kinds of moments spark ideas for new work?
I take many photos when I am out and about, these photos inspire me and are a reference point but mainly, I work from ideas collected and stored in the cupboard in my brain called inspiration.
When I am walking, I touch leaves and flower petals, I look at shapes and textures, I listen, smell, wonder and admire, and watch the continual movement of everyday.
What helped you trust your own creative instincts?
I worked for many years in an artist-run gallery, which provided me with many business skills. I think one of the greatest ones was being able to meet and talk to the viewer, the customers. Meeting the customer helped to build my confidence and self-belief in what I was doing as an artist.
Facebook also opened direct contact with the viewer. The massive support from people on FB has always driven me to keep going to try new things. I am always grateful for this support.
As an artist, I am very grateful for the warm response to my art and grateful for being able to sell all I can make.
How has your work evolved over the years?
I believe my work has developed significantly over the last 40 years.
After thinking about this, I believe that much of the change is generated through different phases in your life.
For example, when my children were at home, my artworks were easier, to put down and come back to; the designs were bright and happy. And now that I have the time, there is much more detail and experimentation in my work; each piece certainly takes many more hours to complete.
About 15 years ago, I decided I no longer wanted to produce for the market but to immerse myself in the moment and to lose myself in the creation of each artwork. This has continued through to today, my passion is stronger, my commitment more intense, and my creativity is like a wave of energy.
Do you start a piece with a clear plan, or does the work guide you along the way?
I very rarely draw but rely on creating organically. It is not often that I start with a clear idea of where I will end up, it is more of a journey. It often takes very little to send me in a new direction, the fold of the fabric, sparkle of metallics, threads thrown across a surface.
Where I end with the artwork, I never clearly know, but I know when it feels right and finish then.
Describe your creative space.
I have had many workspaces over the many years, from kitchen tables, areas in a garage, to taken over rooms and spaces in our home.
My current one is my favourite. It is a large space bursting with magical stuff. I have cupboards that contain paints, glues, felt tips, stencils, leather, silk, fabric scraps, paint brushes, wools, threads, fabrics, and so much more.
My workspace is bright with great light and looks directly into a garden full of texture and colour with flowers blooming all year round. It is painted in a soft green /green-grey, which is calming, and surrounded by a chaos of colours and threads.
The centre of my room is a big work area made up of several tables and more containers. I know where most things are until I tidy up, then I can’t find anything.
My room is organised into hand dyed and commercial fabrics, cottons, velvet, silk, sewing machine bits and pieces etc, etc, homes for everything.
All these bibs and bobs enable me to layer my artworks. I like to layer my creations as this gives great depth, movement, and life.
I have been asked many times how do you know when you have finished a piece of work, how to answer that? I often say when I am teaching, if you listen hard enough, your artwork talks to you and guides your direction, and it also tells you when to stop.
I am never sure when that moment will be, but I listen, and suddenly the balance and song are complete in my artwork.
Where can people see your work?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelletextiles/
My website: https://chelletextiles.com.au/
Rapid Fire Fun:
Hand stitching or machine stitching? Free motion machine stitching
Favorite color right now? Always greens and blues
Places that always inspire you? Spain, Australian Outback
What are you curious to explore next? Wherever my creative mind takes me.
Interview posted May 2026
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