What was your inspiration to pursue art as a career ?
During my college years , I took art classes , but mostly I was involved in theater - a field that allowed me to study costuming and set design , inspiring me to later to open a small dinner theater in Bonnie Doon , CA with a group of drama graduates . One of the things I would do at the dinner theater was to bring in local artists for each new show and I recall that it was always something that I enjoyed doing . The journey between those theater years and today took many twists and turns , but I think every twist and every turn was the lead-in for what was going to be my destiny , after my husband and I moved to Spokane from Hawaii over twenty years ago . In Hawaii , I had dabbled in painting and started a line of hand painted purses and accessories that I wholesaled to some of the finer boutiques .
What lead you to decide to own and operate an Art Gallery and when did that happen ?
After moving to Spokane , I wasn ’ t sure what I was going to do , but I knew I needed a creative outlet . For awhile , I wrote for the Inlander and took on a few jobs as an event planner . Meanwhile , I was itching to pursue a dream that I had been yearning to do for many years . So when I met Alesha Calendar , a highly creative and smart young woman with an entrepreneurial spirit , the two of us gathered our resources and opened “ The Artist Tree Gallery .” The gallery was located directly across from the Davenport Hotel and by 2003 / 2004 there were a significant number of galleries all within a twoblock radius . It was a very special time as the area was bustling with fresh energy and rightfully called the Davenport Arts District .
FIBER ARTIST MICHELE MOKREY
26 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE