About
Michelle Ridley is a natural textile artist.
She lives a creative, nature-centered life, infusing and cultivating her passions. Her natural textile, handmade clothing were featured on the cover of Altered Couture and in Belle Armoire magazines. She has the honor of winning “Best art to Wear” at the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole Wyoming in 2017 and “Best Fashion Collection “ 2022. She spent the over 25 years living in Southern California, traveling as a professional gardener and creating and showing her artwear all over the west. In 2019 after a life-changing experience in India, she started a whole new life with her childhood sweetheart, a perfect match for her, and their unique life living off grid in the wilderness mountains of Colorado. When she is not practicing yoga, hiking or mountain biking in Colorado’s Rocky mountains, she connects the natural world though her art; hand spinning, embroidery, boro cloth, nuno felting, eco-printing, natural dyeing, and Indian wood block printing on cloth. She does all of this in her studio, off the grid in the wilderness!
Michelle has traveled all over the world for spiritual pilgrimages, inspiration, and immersions. Before moving to Colorado, she immersed in training with teacher Shiva Rea completing her Prana Flow® yoga, Trance Dance®, and Prana Danda® 300 hr teaching certificate. She studied Yoga, Ayruveda, Buddhist Tantra, Pranayma, and Meditation.
Being in Nature, mantra, kirtan, and meditation are a few of her vehicles for creativity and connecting to Source.
She has infused these traditions into her life, art, and combining the two in Sacred Art Retreats. Sharing her gifts of guided breath and moving meditation, facilitating opening the channels, stimulating creativity and allowing authentic expression through art.
*Connecting*Nature*Creativity*
Michelle was awarded several times the New Mexican Taos Wool Festival Grand Champion Garment Winner which was one of her favorite annual textile Pilgrimages. She has co-lead art and spiritual retreats across the globe. Her favorite past retreats include a natural dyeing project with Joanna Powell Colbert on Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington state. Another highlight of Michelle’s career was with Vijaya Stern's Ayruveda Panchakarma Retreat in Rishikesh, India, where she lead a sacred natural dyeing project from Ramana’s Garden’s kitchen, and shared her love of textiles with women on a tour of Jaipur, with a visit at Injiri’s studio, meeting in person her favorite designer, Chinar Farooqui.
"Set your life on fire, and seek only those who fan the flames" -Rumi
Living and Dyeing
Bellvue, Colorado
United States
Contact me for appointments and custom designs.
