The work of Michelle Yee will be on display at the Orcas Library for the month of October. Her paintings are created using watercolors and ink on rice paper.

Yee began painting intuitively and writing poetry to move out of her head and into a more embodied experience after a long dissertation and after being diagnosed with endometriosis. She has studied Chinese brush painting and calligraphy with Ichen Wu of Ichen Art Academy since 2018.

A poet at heart, Michelle likes to combine text, Chinese brush painting, and found materials in collage. Michelle believes that art exists within the present moment and within everyday phenomena, including natural elements and discarded ephemera. A meditative practice, the creative process allows Michelle to reflect upon – and interrogate- personal and collective historical memory.

Michelle’s books of poetry and art can be found at the independent bookstore Village Books in Fairhaven (Bellingham), where all the proceeds from purchases of her books go back to supporting the community work of Village Books.

She is grateful that Orcas has been her home since 2020.