Michelle Sider is a Michigan-based mixed-media and mosaic artist whose lifelong relationship

with light began in childhood, captivated by the sunbeams streaming through her family’s

windows. That early fascination has evolved into a distinctive body of work exploring physical,

metaphorical, and spiritual light—and its capacity to transform, illuminate, and heal.

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Working primarily with glass, stone, metal, and mixed media, Michelle approaches mosaic much as a painter approaches a canvas. She cuts, layers, chisels, and shapes materials to create

movement, depth, texture, and light. Reflective surfaces shift as the viewer moves, while

undulating planes and intricate patterns invite the eye to travel through each piece. Her work

draws on her foundations in painting, sculpture, and ballet, as well as her lifelong fascination

with color, light, rhythm, and form.

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Michelle’s parallel careers as an artist, clinical psychologist, and educator deeply inform her

work. Through psychology, she developed a profound understanding of human experience,

resilience, grief, and healing. Through teaching, she discovered art’s power to connect,

communicate, and inspire. These experiences continue to shape both her studio practice and

her belief that art can offer a place for reflection, meaning, and hope.

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Her work explores memory, identity, heritage, spirituality, nature, and resilience. She is

particularly interested in the tension between darkness and light—the losses and experiences

that shape us, and the possibility of finding illumination even within them. In her process,

bringing light to fractured surfaces and uniting broken pieces becomes an act of repair:

transforming memory, experience, and loss into meaning and hope.

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Michelle earned a BFA with honors from the University of Michigan, followed by an MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Detroit. Her work has been exhibited widely and has received recognition including a Juror’s Award from Contemporary Mosaic Artists 2 and

Best in Show & Judge’s Choice from the New England Mosaic Society. In 2023, her I Am

Yemenite series was named a Top 25 Finalist at ArtPrize.

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Represented by galleries in Michigan and North Carolina, Michelle Sider has exhibited

nationally and internationally and teaches and lectures through workshops, artist presentations, and mosaic programs. She is also the illustrator and co-author of Never Long Enough: Finding Comfort and Hope Amidst Grief and Loss and Never Long Enough Workbook & Coloring Book, which draw upon her backgrounds in psychology and art to support those navigating grief, loss, and legacy.

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