Working primarily on mylar and canvas, Michaud has spent years refining a distinctive process that is both intuitive and meditative. Her translucent mylar oil paintings have a striking atmospheric quality, created through a cycle of application and removal in which paint is layered, lifted, and reworked until an image gradually reveals itself. The process is one of discovery and negotiation, a dialogue between intention and chance that allows each work to evolve organically. Although Michaud often begins with vague composition sketches as references inspired by dreams, travels, and photographs, her finished paintings do not depict specific places or moments in time. Instead, they emerge from an internal landscape shaped by memory and imagination. Many of the works resemble abstracted landscapes, while others suggest animals, flowers, clouds, or figures that surface briefly before dissolving again within shifting fields of color and form. Often modest in scale, the paintings reward prolonged looking. The longer one stands before them, the more forms appear and transform. Shapes emerge slowly and then recede, creating a visual experience that feels immersive and intimate. Michaud’s works invite viewers to linger, allowing the imagery to unfold gradually as perception and imagination interact. A highlight of Cloud Gazing will be a wall of small mylar works exhibited unframed, emphasizing the delicate and translucent nature of the material. Collectors will have the opportunity to select individual pieces and create their own compositions through custom framing arrangements, extending Michaud’s spirit of experimentation and discovery into the act of collecting. Cloud Gazing will open with an artist reception and talk on April 18 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and will be on view through May 23 at Gross McCleaf Gallery Showroom as part of Stanek Gallery’s Outside the Box collaborative program. By working with host venues and institutions to provide additional exhibition opportunities for gallery artists, the initiative expands the reach of Stanek Gallery’s program while elevating the voices of its artists within the broader artistic community.