Executive Associate, and Programs Associate
Michelle began work with Cobscook Institute as an Artist in Residence and Pottery Instructor in April of 2017. Having varied and resilient skills, she currently instructs and manages the Pottery Studio and is Cobscook Institute’s Executive Associate & Programs Associate.
Michelle is a Maine Native, from Waterville, and is a proud member of the Acadian French Community and has many relatives in Maine and in various Canadian communities. She also lived in Southport, NC for 20 years before returning to Washington County, the place that has always felt like home. She has five grandchildren in the area.
Her professional career has been extremely diverse, from teaching English and French, to working as Curator for a small Botanical Garden in North Carolina, to and serving as President and CEO of a small S-Corp, Spencer Pottery, Inc. In Community work, she has served on Keep Brunswick County Beautiful, Brunswick County, North Carolina, has administered a sizeable grant to create Caswell Avenue Community Garden in Southport, NC, and has been a member of a large Cooperative Gallery and Art Studio, Associated Artists of Southport, NC.
Michelle holds a BA in English from the University of Maine. She believes that learning is a lifelong adventure, and in the nineties, she began learning ceramic arts, attending community colleges and professional pottery workshops from various Nationally and Internationally recognized artists to arrive at a professional level of knowledge. Still later, she earned a Graduate Certificate in Horticulture from North Carolina State University. She hopes to always continue learning.
Outside of work, Michelle pursues her personal passion for the Arts in her private studio, Orange River Artisans, in Whiting, Maine. She also enjoys cooking vegetarian and vegan food, practicing yoga and meditation, swimming laps, and renovating a small cabin in the woods of Whiting where she hopes to live a quiet life until the end of her days. She hopes to write a new song or two, accompanied by her old Yamaha, a friend since high school.