Caitie Mikhel believes that art is a method of expression, and also a method of understanding. It’s the documentation of how a person sees and interacts with the world.
After completing a double major in art and music at Westminster College in SLC, UT, Caitie earned her Master’s in Secondary Education at Grand Canyon University. As a teacher, Caitie primarily works with special education populations including Title 1, emotional disorders, and behavioral disorders. She spends the majority of her time working with students to help them build a relationship with their creativity. While technical skills are given plenty of focus, Caitie sees greater value in helping her students get to know themselves as they explore the creative spectrum in both visual and performing arts. She is a firm believer that art serves as a bridge between all facets of our personalities—allowing us bring our whole selves together—and loves teaching her students to embrace failure as part of the learning process.
Caitie is currently working on a meditative arts practice curriculum to combine therapeutic practices like Dialectical Behavioral Therapy with the visual and performing arts, and plans to pursue a PhD in this same vein.
In her own work, Caitie is quite painterly. She likes to see her brushstrokes, and the way the different colors interact with one another. She enjoys seeing evidence of a process—evidence of failure and problem solving--rather than focusing on a "perfect" final product. You can find her work on Instagram @mikhelcaitie
