MICHELE SCHNEIDER

Born: 1970 France

• Figurative
• Portrait

1988 High school degree (baccalaureat), France.Started painting on wood (traditional European style furniture paintings)
1988-89 Au pair girl in London, England (1 year)
1989-90 Discovery travels in South East Asia (6 months)
1990-91 Discovery travels in South America (6 months)
1994 Degree in Languages applied to business (Chinese-English-French), France
1994-95 Masters degree in Languages applied to business, Taiwan (1 year)
1995-96 Volunteer in day care centre for disabled children, Madagascar (1 year)
1996-97 Training in Logistics and Administration of international Aid programs, France
1998 Administration and finance manager, Doctors without borders, China-Tibet (6 months)
1998-99 Program coordinator, Children of the world-Human rights, Irak (1 year)
1999-2000 Middle East program manager, Children of the World-Human Rights, France
2000-01 Training in various Arts and crafts, France (stained glass, etching, computer graphics, pottery, mosaics) the aim of the training was to discover and acquire a basic knowledge in various art and craft techniques
2001-02 Discovery travels in Nepal and India (6 months) : I studied traditional buddhist painting (Thangka) in Nepal, batik in Varanasi (India), traditional silk painting in east India, pottery in south India
2002 Trip to French Guyana and Brasil (1 month): I studied some local pottery techniques in Brasil
2002-03 archives manager, Shanghai, China : part-time job to enable me to paint. Discovery of oil paint.
Since July 03producing my own pottery and paintings in Sydney
January 04 Amnesty International joint exhibition, Tap gallery
June 04 Environment exhibition, Tap Gallery
Candy’s café, Manly


After high school, my life was completely dedicated to discovering the world, its cultures and its peoples through personal travels or through humanitarian aid programs. I would occasionnally do some paintings on wood, either on furniture, or on smaller utilitarian or purely decorative pieces back in France. These few years implementing aid projects were a very rewarding and enriching experience, though sometimes a daily struggle, and soon I longed for a more peaceful life. Very naturally, I started a training on various arts and crafts, gained some basic knowledge of pottery, stained glass, etching, mosaics, and soon went for a trip to India and Nepal to learn from their traditional crafts.
At that time, my aim was to concentrate on ceramics as the feeling of throwing and working with clay is a very fascinating and emotional one. I considered myself as a craftsperson, interested in learning a know-how and in bringing some aesthetic contribution to a utilitarian object, but any personal art painting seemed for some reason out of question and out of reach.
In China in 2002, a painter initiated me into oil painting and I slowly started using this medium, discovering simultaneously that imagination and inspiration just needed to be unveiled to exist. Since my arrival to Sydney in July 2003, I devote myself to learning painting and ceramics, going from one to the other as they are very complementary.
My objective is to explore the different techniques of painting, of colours on various materials and on a long term basis I wish to work on subjects that are important to me, like tolerance and freedom. I hope to be able through painting to transmit some of the values or stories of people and countries I met, and to show that it is the beauty and necessity of the differences in our outer world that nurture our inner world and help us growing.