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Jennie Rhodes
Nerja
Thursday, 17 April 2025, 15:10
Born in Paris to American parents, Michèle Savelle has always been drawn to Europe, so it was only natural that she and her German husband Klaus Liebetanz would eventually settle somewhere on the continent.
Three years ago they moved to Nerja, which Michèle admits they had only seen in documentaries about Andalucía and the Costa del Sol. However, she says that it was the right decision and the town has "more than lived up to" their expectations. As an artist and musician (Klaus is a professional flautist), they have soon integrated into the area's lively arts and music scene.
Michèle, who already spoke Spanish before moving to Spain as the couple had previously spent six years in Mexico, is a member of the town's art association, Aneda, where her second solo exhibition opens on Saturday 19 April.
Michèle, 74, has always made art, having decided that that was what she was going to study at college back in Seattle. Although the family travelled a lot when she was young - her father was a Fulbright scholar and professor of American Colonial History - they would always return to the city.
Michèle says that living in different parts of the world - the family also spent a further three years in France, a year in Spain and a year in Chile - enabled her to become "an observer" of the places she lived, which she says has always inspired her work.
Michèle studied Fine Arts, Graphic Design and Glass at the University of Washington, she also attended Seattle School of Visual Concepts and Seattle Pratt Fine Arts Centre, among other places.
She was living and working in an artist community in Seattle when she met Klaus. She admits that she didn't have time to "join a hiking group or anything like that", so instead she "put an ad in the paper". As luck would have it a young flautist was also looking for love and the couple have now been together for 30 years. As well as the arts, they both share a passion for travelling and have travelled extensively together.
The couple have now been in Nerja for three years and the forthcoming exhibition is her second solo one. Michèle has also participated in group exhibitions, including the Nerja Arts Society's 30th anniversary exhibition in February 2024.
This exhibition, she says, is a mix of work including "magical realism" which Michèle explains is "a term that describes a recognisable image depicted realistically, with a fantasy about what is happening in the picture".
Local bars, restaurants and beach scenes appear in her work, along with themes related to technology and climate change: "There are some political themes in my work too," Michèle reveals.
She has also recently taken part in a felting workshop run by fellow Nerja-based artist, Basma Ashworth, which Michèle says inspired her to produce some collage-style pieces.
Michèle works in watercolour pencil and dry pencils and uses different types of paper. She recognises that her work has evolved since she has been in Spain and that "the colour exploded" into her work, having produced a lot of black and white ink drawings while living in Mexico.
Michèle admits that she and Klaus feel "at home" here in Nerja and believes that their European ancestry has a lot to do with that - Michèle believes her surname has Anglo-French origins.
When Michèle isn't making art she says she enjoys "swimming, snorkelling, cooking, travelling, entertaining, reading and walking". She says she's also "captivated by the history of Spain and the great Spanish poets".
Michèle's exhibition opens on Saturday 19 April at the Galería Aneda on Calle Granada, Nerja at 7pm and Klaus will be playing the flute. It runs until 7 May.
Further information:
Website: www.michelesavelle.com / Facebook: ANEDA
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