Michele TEJUOLA Spindle
AVAILABLE WORKS
Biography
Tejuola was born and raised in Detroit Michigan, the child of two Southern emigres. After graduating from the renowned Cass Technical High School (Detroit) in 1974 and the Columbus College of Art and Design (Columbus, Ohio) in 1978, she worked in retail advertising and designed catalogs as well as other collateral for department stores. Retail advertising took Tejuola to Atlanta, Georgia. There, she became intrigued by West African culture and stories and the connections she saw to her own story as a descendent of enslaved West Africans. In the 1990s, Tejuola moved to North Carolina, where she established herself as a gourd artist. Even after a midlife career change to teaching middle school art, she continued her craft. Tejuola moved to Fort Worth after retiring from teaching in 2020 to be closer to her family.
Michele Tejuola Spindle
Carved and Painted Gourd
18 x 10.5 x 10.5 in