Walking down the street, I have an unassuming attitude at the sight of a young African man with shoulder length locks. But sitting in front of him and exchanging ideas and perspectives is enlightening. Viewing paintings of his early and more recent works is eye opening and breathtaking. One’s emotions are instantly aroused. As author Dana Quinn aptly puts it: “We are all artists writing the course of our lives.”

Meet Yegizaw Michael, an extraordinary man who over the last fifteen years has created artwork for private and corporate clients and has also taught various communities about the use of art for social activism. Yeggy, as his friends know him, boasts over one hundred solo and group exhibitions and has held artist-in-residence positions on three continents. He has been awarded “Artist of the Year” and “Raimok” awards from Kenya and is recognized by the United Nations for his work on “Artists against AIDS”.

Charles Cantalupo, Author and English Professor at Penn State University, remarks that “the visions of Yegizaw Michael are rooted in a world of natural and supernatural elements that are most clearly realized in their humanity. Both figurative and abstract, his profound sense of design is from beginning to end emotional.” Ever visit the San Diego Zoo? Yeggy designed the billboards advertising their Wild Animal Park. Perhaps you take your kids to Seattle’s Children’s Museum. Expect to see a pillar dedicated to its twenty-five years of growth and expansion. Just mention the 7’x15’ tile mosaic mural that adorns Seattle’s La Louisiana Restaurant. “Oh, he did that?” comment passersby while admiring the colors, symbols, and images representing a proud and vibrant Seattle. Not surprising for one whose art has been described as “rich and powerful” (Alvin Sher, Director of NY Arts program). His most recent contribution was to the Northwest Folk Life Festival for which Yeggy was commissioned to create a painting honoring the Horn of Africa communities, as well as curate the Exhibit, which included the building of two traditional homes, a Gojo of Ethiopia and a Hidmo of Eritrea, in which traditional coffee ceremonies took place.

Sitting with Yegizaw, I asked him about his very first exhibit. This is how he described it to me: Having no money or means to support himself upon emigrating to Kenya from war-torn Ethiopia (where he studied at Addis Ababa’s Fine Arts School), he took the hard covers off disposed books and old bed sheets and used them as canvas to make his paintings. The exhibition was a huge success and he ended up selling every last painting. He knew from that moment on that it was his c h o i c e whether or not to make it as an artist, whether or not to get a desk job to support his family.

Yegizaw’s paintings reveal a visual work of body and soul through use of textured light and color that is thoroughly informed and inspired by Africa. A composition that in its own way is new, really new, a fresh discovery that is comparable in its visual breakthroughs and potential legacy to familiar Western artists like Giotto or Raphael, van Gogh or Monet (Charles Cantalupo).

Yegizaw currently resides in Seattle. To learn more about the life and art of Yegizaw Michael, please visit www.yeggystudio.com.

Tizita Hatcher lives and works in Seattle, Washington as a freelance writer and community organizer.