About

My name is Michelle Verbeeck. I live in south central Pennsylvania.

First let me say

I do what I love and I love what I do! Any day spent in the studio is a good day!

I have been creating for over 30 years. I love to learn and figure things out which means I am 96 % self taught.

Just give me some info, some tools and time in the studio and I will get to work, you never know what might come out. I find my creative nature is to spend lots of time learning  by teaching myself. I occasionally do come up for a bit of outside guidance from time to time, but tend to lean towards learning thru creative exploration.

I am also a book person and love to collect books! I have a large collection of how to books on the things I would like to learn, some about things I am currently learning and also lots of books full of eye candy for inspiration.

I have an extensive library and a long list of stuff I still want to know how to do. Truly the list is endless. I wonder if this lifetime is enough to get it all in! I believe John Burroughs said it best.

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

What pushes me to create is just the desire to see what I can do. Taking the raw materials, the processes i learn and seeing where they take me.

I can be picky about taking classes, time and money and travel often limit what’s available in my area. So, for the same money I would rather buy a book, some new tools and get to work. Playtime is some of the most fun creative time you can spend. Delving into some new technique or supply and seeing where it goes.

I am never bored, too many things on the list for that. I like to make things that are a bit different. After all why be a daisy in a sea of daisies!

If you see me sitting around doing nothing, that because that’s just what I want to do. Most of the time I am busy working on something!

Now for a  bit about me personally

  • My favorite color is red
  • I love birds, I have 13, 12 cockatiels and 1 blue crowned amazon parrot
  • I am always the student – I love to learn
  • I would rather be doing something than watching TV
  • I dont like to watch the news
  • my hubby supports everything I do
  • I am half a century old
  • I used to be a fiber artist and a decorative painter
  • I design websites for artists in my spare time
  • I get up everyday and cant wait to get work
  • there is nothing better than homemade bread
  • I create all my items from scratch
  • I love to hear from customers and create custom work
  • I have wanted to be an artist since the 3rd grade
  • my mother taught me to sew when I was 10 – that was the beginning of everything
  • I have 5 kids, 11 birds, 4 cats and 2 dogs
  • and I believe you should not put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoyed it today, you can do it again tomorrow.