One day, when Mikaela Sheldt was 17, she came home from physics class and began painting on her bedroom walls. She had never considered herself an artist before but her mother had bought her art supplies and something just clicked.
This practice stayed in her periphery, but it wasn’t until she graduated from Agnes Scott – a women’s college in Decatur, Georgia – and after spending some time teaching math to refugee boys, that she decided to turn art into a full-time gig.
“Choosing to be vulnerable is a power move. It is making space for myself without asking for permission,” she told New Sincerity. “Vulnerability makes the assumption that one’s whole self deserves space. In a fast-paced world geared towards the normative and the majority, vulnerability is often a radical act.”
Sheldt, who is very open about her Asperger’s, began to see her artwork as a tool to process human emotions in a way she enjoyed. When approached delicately and sussed apart bit by bit, Sheldt reveals to us how much can be uncovered in one human expression or moment.
“Even when I’m painting a seascape, I’m really just painting how it feels to be small in the presence of something massive. I don’t paint what something looks like – I paint what it feels like. When it feels right – then it’s finished. “
“Face Three” by Mikaela Sheldt
In a society structured to reward the loudest or the most gregarious, Sheldt says musings on identity and vulnerability are revolutionary actions. She believes that when it comes to how an individual searches for meaning in this (arguably) chaotic world, there are no rules to how you find it. For Sheldt, being on the autism spectrum actually gave her the tools to approach her art in a very distinct way.
“People are not perfect. People are dynamic, flawed and beautiful,” Sheldt says on her blog. “The mistakes are so important really. Mistakes make the portraits honest.”
At age 30, when Sheldt isn’t painting she spends her time as a surf photographer, Python coder, and writer (visit her blog for some truly brilliant writing.) In our interview with her, she spoke on her interest in the relationship between painting and coding.
“Writing code makes me a better painter and more well-rounded person. Coding fuels my creativity. I return to my studio practice stimulated and confident instead of weak and unstable. I feel a sort of power and autonomy that I’ve never experienced before,” Sheldt tells New Sincerity.
“With coding, I see a viable path towards financial independence as an autistic adult. If I’m being honest, that isn’t something I had ever seen before learning to code.”
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