Michelle Cotrina, in her formative years, was an award-winning artist recognized for her creative genius. She was trained professionally at Otis Art Institute, Denver University, and Santa Barbara City College. After 20 years away from her life work, including a decade of living on the streets tending the environment by collecting recycling and washing car windows for tips of passing cars, she is now plugged back in to her life work through #theVanGoghProject and the Museum Project 2.0.

 

Michelle makes art, like Van Gogh, to free the mind from inner turmoil. As a “make do” artist she seeks to raise awareness through her art of how challenging it is to make art as an institutionalized artist. Her sibling Misa has shaped this project to help her realize this dream and since fall of 2017 Michelle has had two shared exhibitions with her sister at Yoga Soup for NECTAR as well as a performance art events at LACMA, MOMA, and the Norton Simon Museum for the Museum Project 2.0.