Michelle Wolins - Stories in Layers

Stories have always been at the heart of my work. I’m drawn to the stories we carry, the experiences that shape us and the threads—sometimes visible, sometimes hidden—that connect us to one another and to the world around us.

My paintings often begin with a moment, an emotion or an observation. I am drawn to creating scenes that become starting points for exploring the things we all experience: belonging, expectation, memory, change, hope and the search for our place in the world.

I work primarily in acrylic and resin, building my paintings in layers of imagery, color, text and found elements. I am fascinated by what happens when something is partially hidden and revealed again—how layers can suggest the passage of time, the complexity of memory or the stories beneath what we see on the surface. Maps, words, leaves and other fragments become more than materials; they carry their own histories and invite connections to other stories.

Although each painting may begin with a particular place or experience, I hope it becomes something the viewer can enter with their own memories and associations. A personal story can become a shared one. A landscape can evoke a feeling of home. A simple object can remind us of someone we love.

For me, making art is a way of noticing these connections—and of celebrating the surprising, sometimes humorous and often beautiful ways our lives intersect. We each have our own stories, but perhaps the most meaningful ones are found in the threads that connect us.