What people are saying:
“Michelle is a unique teacher-the embodiment of what a teacher should be. She is knowledgeable, personable, intuitive, resourceful, skilled in everything she teaches and gives 300% to her students..
A brilliant instructor, the classes are not formulaic and she is adept at responding to her students needs. The Zoom classes are very worthwhile and being able to work on my own in my space at home allows me to readily access all of the tools I need for any given assignment.”
— Carolyn Marks
“Michelle is a gifted teacher. Knowing something doesn’t always translate into being able to pass that knowledge to others.
Michelle is able to break things down into simple components, communicating ideas clearly, staying focused as a concept is built and expanded upon. This makes it easier for her students to grow as artists. Her broad depth of art knowledge also means that she has valuable insight to improve the work of both more accomplished students as well as beginners. Importantly, she is patient, kind, and encouraging.
[Michelle’s] approach reflects her deep understanding of art. Her critiques include explanations of color, shadow, under painting effects, the geometry of the masters, why different paintings ‘work’ while others do not. Every single person in my classes with Michelle became a better painter whatever their starting point or innate talent level.”
— Maura Rutkin
“Michelle has an ability to meet each student exactly where they are and adapt her lesson plans to each individual. She holds no one back and leaves no one behind while being incredibly supportive of everyone's work. She also has a wealth of knowledge of artists, art history and drawing/painting methods that other teachers rarely share, and no matter what it is, Michelle has an infectious enthusiasm. All of this has expanded my knowledge and introduced me to artists who I was not familiar with, opening up a curiosity in my own approach to my work.”
— Michele Garfield
“Your willingness to spend time with and give intensive help to each individual student is unusual, beyond what you will find in most classes/teachers. I have greatly expanded my skills in a range of mediums and expanded my repertoire of tools. I’ve also improved my understanding of composition and its importance. Your breadth and depth of knowledge in combination with sensitivity to others' skills and aptitudes makes you a good teacher for a wide range of students.
The use of Zoom and Procreate addresses the limitations of the restrictions we are under very well. We can get individual and shared instruction and increase the learning experience from others' ideas and work. It allows the rapid search and display of works that can illustrate a lesson in a way that cannot easily be done in a studio setting.”
— Jeanne Schwartz
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It feels that we are in the same room. As I am in Los Angeles, and you in New York, you’ve seamlessly brought your knowledge clear across the continent.
What stands out is your flexibility and agility. Rather than a parochial teaching regimen, you adapt to what I both need to learn and want to learn. Your expertise allows you to adjust to my learning needs and desires. You make learning easy. What I most value is that your depth and range of knowledge in art instruction is given unselfishly and enthusiastically. You love teaching.”
— Arthur Anderson
“Most hands-on art classes, from adult-ed to graduate classes, essentially demonstrated and gave me pointers regarding working with the materials at hand… Without further context, it is like finding my way in the dark or trying to reinvent the wheel. As a student of any discipline, I don't know what I don't know, and I look to my instructor for guidance and direction. This is where you, Michelle, stand out. Creating visual art is a process; artists have stood on the shoulders of those who came before them. When we are solving issues in class, you use the masters to give depth to my understanding. And best of all, you give in-depth personal critiques, showing me my strengths and where and how I can move forward. I had woefully deficient drawing-training and working with you has opened up a whole new world to me.”
— Edie Litwack
“I was an English Chairperson and high school teacher as well as a college professor for 10 years so I know an outstanding teacher when I see one!! Michelle is an amazing art teacher!! In the four weeks that I have worked with her on Zoom, I have learned more about art theory and practice than I had for 10 years at a local art studio. She spends a great deal of time preparing her lessons and caters them to my needs. For instance, I asked Michelle to teach me how to make my paintings more impressionistic, and she brought in several paintings of Monet and Manet and taught me how they depicted light via colors, how they mixed and juxtaposed complementary color design and how they simplified their composition. More importantly, with her technology expertise, she demonstrated how to take a photo and turn it into an impressionistic painting. I feel so blessed to have found such a wonderfully diligent and knowledgable art teacher!!”
— Charlotte Rosenzweig
“So much fun. I am learning a lot whether live or recorded. You have a great sing-song voice that is soothing and I love that you answer all my questions. Your demos make everything seem easy to tackle. I enjoy it so much and have understood a lot. You seem to have brought it all together for me because I was never able to just do a portrait alla prima from a picture. Much less in a day. Something clicked. I can see how you handle water mixable oil, and that’s important. You are an excellent teacher - superb!
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— Renate Reid
“Always encouraging and supportive, you recognize the need for the individual to find their own path - I think that's a difficult task to perform and yet you do it so well. Your knowledge base about teaching drawing and painting is vast. You have stressed the need to understand the “Basics” in order to proceed with confidence.”
— Pearl Strauber
“There is a good combination of a formal structured approach to drawing and an intuitive sense of artistic quality and feeling. You provide practical analytic methods to assess and correct drawing and composition problems. There has been a lot of generous time spent on one to one feedback during critiques through Zoom, that are not available in live classes.”
— Saul Teichberg
“Your passion and intellect for art is expressed in every part of your teaching. I value the exposure to cultural, historic, creative, and of course rich technical art education. The critiques of student art highlight each of these aspects.”
— Ellen Edelman
“Michelle is the consummate professional. After trying several art teachers, I have developed the most knowledge through her explanations, critiques, and demonstrations. You assemble all the parts of value, hue, and chroma - understanding the color wheel has helped a great deal. I find I prefer the Zoom format.”
— Ellie
“I value most your expertise, patience and encouragement. Art lessons have been educational, absorbing, focusing during these difficult times. You have adapted very well and have also helped us adapt. Actually, zoom lessons have been more organized and allowed for more group learning than at the Museum.”
— Barbara Croen
“You are extremely knowledgeable and spend the time to take each student on their path. The zoom experience is better than I thought it would be! You have the technology available to teach and you use it well. Anyone interested in creating will benefit because you easily assess what each student needs at their personal level.”
— Phyliss Solomon
“Michelle is very thorough & well schooled. She captures the individual personality of the student & works to develop your own expression.”
— Jane Shalam