Michelle Han
Throughout her childhood and schooling, Michelle was always interested in two main endeavors: making art, and writing.
As a child, Michelle’s stories focused on family relationships and the difficulties of being an odd duck in a conventional world. Her paintings and drawings were realistic portraits and still lifes; she loved to draw the human figure.
Michelle spent a summer in 1992 studying fine art and illustration at Rhode Island School of Design. She began her undergraduate education in art at Carnegie Mellon University before receiving her bachelor’s degree in creative writing, with a focus on fiction.
Her formal education complete, Michelle went to work as a reporter for newspapers. She spent two years working for local papers in Southampton, NY and Queens. In 2000, she moved to New Jersey, where she spent the next four years in the newsroom at a large, daily newspaper.
In New Jersey, Michelle had a penchant for finding quirky stories in ordinary places. Her ability to be a good listener and a subtle writer made her particularly adept at writing about suffering and loss. She spent months covering stories about loss and survival after 9-11, and eventually moved on to write about abuses and reforms in the state’s child welfare system.
In 2004, Michelle launched a freelance career and has since been working as an artist, writer, editor and media relations consultant in New York. Past and current clients have included nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs and small businesses, university faculty and PhD candidates in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and North Carolina.
Today, Michelle’s writings continue to explore themes of family relationships, loss, and feeling alien in a conventional world. She returned to drawing and painting, showing her work in group shows in Brooklyn, and has fallen in love with a new technique, printmaking. She sells her work at outdoor markets and fairs in Brooklyn.
Michelle was born in Manhattan and grew up on Long Island. She loves New York City, music, wine, spending time with friends, and many creative endeavors. An avid runner, Michelle completed her third marathon last fall with a personal record. She lives in Brooklyn.
