We are looking forward to welcoming the renowned Pass Christian artist Michelle Allee to the Greenhouse and excited to have her Queens displayed on our walls. The reception for Michelle Allee is October 19from 6-9 PM. Hannah O'Gorman will be performing for the evening.

"I guess my bottom line...what I want to say is Be the queen you were meant to be, just be you, wear the crown & own It. What ever that looks like, BE TRUE TO YOU. " -- Michelle Allee

"Looking at artwork is reminiscent of looking into a surreal mirror. One will find traces of themselves in each piece and we are forced to examine the relationship between us and our surrounding environment. In essence, there is a strong connection that draws us to view paintings of other humans and search ourselves and our feelings for what it is that connects us to the work.

When it comes to viewing the works of Pass Christian artist, Michelle Allee, a particular group (in this case, queens) are quick to find the symbolism in her paintings. As you will see, several of her paintings feature people adorned with crowns. Their heavy heads gracefully support this ornament and carry an indistinguishable amount of pride and dignity across to her viewers. But alas, look closely and you will find that they convey so much more.

A common theme in her work, the crown symbolizes not only dignity and grace, but how we as women carry and convey it. Some figures are solemn, some celebratory, but all wearing the crown acknowledge that it is so much more than what is presented in her lighthearted style. For, although lighthearted, we can still see the reality of having the crown, the burden, the responsibility, placed upon our heads at times. We all wear our own invisible crowns. Some of us have bigger crowns than others and sometimes we hide them away and decide that we’d rather not be queens for a day.

The magnitude of this symbol empowers women, blessing them with self-sustainable authority and thick will, not to mention the most coveted accessory, the crown. But wearing the crown denotes responsibility and the will to be a body of fortitude. We learn at a very young age that we’re all princesses, but how many of us actually grow up to be queens?

To Michelle, it seems that every woman embodies the spirit and strength of a queen. She believes that her love for painting queens comes from having a close relationship with her mother and two sisters. The crown becomes a metaphor for strength and responsibility that is passed to each member of her family. Sometimes, she admits, the crown is best put down for a while." -- Martha Whitney Butler, Shoofly Magazine