Treasured Possession (Michaela Laurie)

Michaela has been creating since she could clutch a coloured pencil in her tiny hand as a child. Studying Fine Arts at University of Sydney, she went on to manage an art gallery in Sydney’s CBD. She has studied and created works in many mediums and using many techniques. But she is best known for her love of fine detail and a love of beautiful colour.

Michaela works from Wren’s Nest Studio, her atelier (often referred to as ‘the shed’) on her property in country New South Wales in Australia. Inspired by natures great and varied beauty, antiques treasures and high-end fashion, her work is always visited by a dash of whimsical imaginings inspired by vintage children’s book illustrations.

Her original art works, created in gouache, watercolour, coloured pencil and ink, are shown through galleries as part of solo and group exhibitions. The art works are digitally captured to create her range of greeting cards and annual calendars.  

In her current work, she has turned her attention to combining beautiful antique objects with the enchanting birds who visit her garden and surrounding land. These works are called ‘The Loved Objects’ Collection. She continues to be inspired and delighted by objects in her home, objects she sees in her travels and those she sees at auction houses. In her imagination, the beautiful objects are visited throughout the year by many and varied bird species. She creates magical still life arrangements by combining the things she loves – with the creatures she loves. 

In her other collections, Michaela brings whimsy and magic to her interpretation of landscape. She introduces viewers world of moody calm and stillness with elements appearing from her imagination and childhood. Human made elements invite the viewer to enter the landscape and imagine themselves walking through and then interacting with it. These ideas and themes appear in the collections Let’s Dress Up, Country Matters, Faraway Trees, Bonsai Magic, Islands in the Bay and Shop Windows.