Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Sider. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Currently, I am working on two significant glass mosaic projects with personal and communal significance. The first project, “Transparencies, Reflections, and Landscapes,” aims to create evocative, spiritually-inspired glass mosaics that celebrate light and a sense of place. These artworks are intended to uplift and inspire the soul, fostering a sense of awe and wellness within our community. My psychology background has influenced my approach to using art to heal. As a psychologist, I’ve witnessed the therapeutic effects of creating glass mosaics, which can alleviate stress and provide emotional expression. As an educator, I’ve observed how glass mosaic art promotes peace and calmness among students. And as an artist, I have experienced first-hand the striking restorative effects of creating art. Moreover, surrounding ourselves with uplifting artwork has been shown to enhance well-being, making art a powerful tool for healing in healthcare settings.
My mosaics in this series, inspired by Michigan’s landscape, have positively impacted others, evoking awe, gratitude, lifting spirits, and inspiring others to appreciate their surroundings. I firmly believe in art’s potential to heal and improve our mental well-being.
Through my art and teaching, I aim to share the beauty of unexpected places, bringing happiness, joy, and gratitude to others while motivating them to appreciate their surroundings and use art as a means of healing.

In addition to the previous project, I’m working on a mosaic series called “I am Yemenite.” This series explores the identity, spirituality, and experiences of religious minorities, focusing on Arabic Jews from Yemen. It aims to challenge preconceived notions about the immigrant experience, shedding light on the history and untold stories of this community. Each mosaic represents different aspects of this rich culture, sparking conversations on emigration, religious minorities, women’s roles, health, discriminatory laws, and more.
The inspiration for this series comes from my family’s Jewish heritage and the stories of survival and emigration from Ukraine. As I learned about the lesser-known narratives of Jewish emigration from the Middle East and Eastern Africa, I felt a strong desire to create artwork that illuminates these stories. Meeting a friend with firsthand accounts of fleeing Yemen solidified my inspiration for the “I am Yemenite” series.
The goal of this glass mosaic series is to communicate significant stories, stimulate conversations, and raise awareness about Yemenite Jewish culture. I’m excited to exhibit it at ArtPrize 2023, reaching a wider audience and fostering understanding and appreciation for this community’s experiences.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a mixed media artist exploring themes of identity, and spirituality, celebrating pride of place and the beauty of light. My work is recognized for its bold use of color, expressive content, and painterly style. I have studied techniques locally and sought out teachers worldwide to develop my style. Often having a dramatic and ethereal quality, my work at times has the power to heal and transform people. I believe that both creating and experiencing art can heal the soul.

I have been expressing my ideas visually for as long as I can remember. While pursuing a career as an artist, I became aware of the transformative powers of art to heal the soul. This discovery led to my becoming a psychologist, using art therapy to help clients and a high school art teacher focusing on self-expressive projects. However, in 2016 I finally decided to devote my professional time fully to create glass mosaics. My recent artwork aims to capture the emotional aspects of identity, spirituality, sense of place, emigration, and experiences of religious minorities. My background as an artist, psychologist, and teacher not only influences my artwork and my classes but also allows me to use art as a means of healing and transformation.

My “Reflections, Transparencies and Landscapes” mosaic series is a metaphor for personal and spiritual reflections. These works, which include nature, still lives, and landscapes, often ride the line between reality and abstraction. They are meant to evoke strong emotions and express my gratitude, awe, and observations of my environment. Inspired by my surroundings, I create light-focused mosaics that aim to capture the emotions, spirituality, and sense of place I experience during the moment of inspiration. Using a variety of glass and mosaic techniques and continual experimentation, these works have a variety of textural qualities and change color as the light fluctuates throughout the day.

Sharing stories about my heritage, emigration, and experiences as a religious minority, I created the “I am Yemenite” series. These glass mosaic portraits are meant to challenge perceptions of emigrants, particularly sharing the story of Jews of Arab descent. The incorporation of hand-made jewelry, ancient pottery, and other historically significant materials enhances the rich cultural significance of these pieces. My goal with this series is to spark conversations about the experiences of emigrants and minorities, the balance between assimilation and maintaining one’s identity, and sharing untold stories from the region.

My third mosaic series, “On the Side of the Road”, is a contemporary take on the surprising beauty I’ve uncovered in the broken surfaces of local roads and everyday settings found while biking or walking. It has been a particular joy of late to transform my fascination with the abstract patterns found in crumbling infrastructure and turn it into beautiful glass mosaics.

While the subject of my work varies, underlying themes of capturing emotions, celebrating light, movement, and spirituality, and provoking thoughtful conversations can be seen throughout the body of my work. I hope the viewer can experience the sparks of my inspiration when they look at my artwork.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was that pursuing a career as an artist is impractical and self-centered. At that time, I didn’t realize that by following my passion, I could use my positive energy to influence, inspire, and assist others.

During my time at the University of Michigan’s art school, I mistakenly believed that choosing art as a career was selfish and that I should use my talents in a different way to help others. Consequently, I decided to pursue a seemingly more “practical” path as an art therapist. Becoming a psychologist was an interesting and sometimes fulfilling choice, but I always felt that something was missing. It wasn’t until I had a major accident and found myself bedridden during recovery that I allowed myself to reconsider pursuing my artistic aspirations.

During that period of reflection, I realized the brevity of life and the importance of pursuing my passion. I developed a more spiritual perspective, recognizing that my artistic talent was a gift from a higher power and that I was meant to utilize it to improve the world.

I have no regrets about the years spent as a psychologist and the opportunities I had to help numerous patients. In fact, those experiences have enriched my work and teaching. However, I am undeniably a happier person as an artist and a teacher compared to my time as a psychologist.

I now understand that through art, I not only help myself but also others. Art allows me to teach, inspire, and uplift individuals, fostering understanding, spirituality, and gratitude. My artwork also has the power to connect people with important memories and emotions, contributing to improved mental well-being.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to make a major change in my life when I was involved in a serious accident, which forced me to take a break from work for a few months. During this time, I had the opportunity to reflect on my life choices and contemplate my future path.

Although I had a successful career as a psychologist, I realized that I wasn’t fulfilled in that profession. Instead, I had a deep passion for art and wanted to pursue it as a career. However, I was initially hesitant due to what is known as the “sunk-cost fallacy.” I felt reluctant to give up on my psychology career because I had invested a significant amount of time and money into pursuing that goal. Nevertheless, I came to the realization that life is short and it was important for me to follow my true passion. So, I made the decision to dedicate myself to pursuing a career in art. I began to both create and teach art. I eventually became a high school art teacher and my background in psychology allowed me to help my students express themselves through their art.

However, my journey didn’t stop there. I later decided to leave my high school teaching position to focus on creating my own art and teaching private classes and workshops. Currently, I am happily creating meaningful pieces of art while also teaching others to do the same.      

Contact Info:

• Website: michellesider.com
• Instagram: Michelle Sider
• Facebook: Michelle Sider-Artist
• Linkedin: Michelle Y. Sider

Image Credits
Michelle Sider headshot, Photo credit: Eli Sider All mosaic artwork photos: Photo credit: Eric Law