About the Artist
Michelle Levine was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1970. Her South American Mother and Jewish native New Yorker Dad raised her in a bi-cultural household. Both parents had strong interest in all the arts- surrounding their three children with museums, literature, music and food from all over the world. In 1970’s New York Michelle developed an early adoration of American Pop Culture. She attended a public school for the gifted and talented. A series of tragic events forced the family to move to New Orleans in the early 80’s.
Michelle fell in love with the city – from the 1984 World’s Fair and first Mardi Gras, to the theatrical feel of the French Quarter. The incidents in New York resulted in the death of both her parents by the age of 23. The loving spirit of the New Orleans community made it possible for her to continue cultivating the interest in art that her parents began. She studied art at the University of New Orleans and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.
Professionally, Michelle has utilized her talents in a variety of ways. Advertising under the name Flights of Fancy, she personalized New Orleans homes and businesses with painted murals or decorative finishes. As a scenic artist she painted sets for all the local theatres and many motion pictures. She has had several successful fine art exhibitions.
Today Michelle Levine is continuing a twenty-year tradition of artistic freedom – one of the beautiful aspects to living life in New Orleans. She is renovating a charming, storm damaged home in the Tulane/Gravier section of the city with her boyfriend Clay. They are extremely active in their community. Michelle’s costumed image was used world wide to represent New Orleans after the 2006 Mardi Gras. She received a grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New York, making Signs of the Times possible.
