Café Artist of the Month (October): Michelle Wade

Michelle Wade is an artist originally from South Africa, who now resides in the beautiful natural landscape of the North Yorkshire Dales. Inspired by the magic of nature, Michelle’s art hopes to remind people how precious nature is and share hope that together we can save our earth. 

Michelle Wade was originally from South Africa, but is now creating art in the beautiful natural landscape of the Yorkshire Dales. She creates art inspired by the magic of nature; the intricate patterns of a seedpod; the spirit and personality of an animal; the wisdom and strength of a tree… 

Michelle began illustrating again during the first lockdown of 2020. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has a “30 days Wild” program that encourages people to interact with nature, from walking barefoot on the grass to following a bumblebee’s journey to building a pond in your garden.  

She decided to set herself a challenge and create an illustration of something wild or natural that she had seen every-day for the 30 days of June and post them on social media, with a little story about her walk or about the subject of the illustration. This challenge connected Michelle even more with nature and connected other people to her stories and to nature! 

Michelle has now created a range of products with her illustrations: greeting cards, vegan suede cushions, 100% cotton tea towels and prints either framed or unframed. All of these products are printed and made in the UK.