Daily Inspiration: Meet Cora Mickaël

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cora Mickaël

Hi Cora, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ooook, let’s go! Originally my craft by trade was tattooing, my carreer spanned over a decade.
I jumped around between Austin, norCal and France (where I opened a tattoo shop in Bordeaux).
I was lucky to travel part of the world and work at conventions all over. Fun times…anyway the tattoo shop journey ended up lasting three years before the time came to move on. I took a break from tattooing and haven’t looked back since(so far!)

I came back to the US, my home away from home for so long, and started exploring my voice through different mediums. LA turned out to be the perfect place to do just that.

I kept painting, drawing, working on love projects, and started acting, voice acting, singing. (in LA, I know, shocker.)
For context’s sake: Did I say that I am also a certified movement meditation facilitator, and trained as an intimacy coordinator? ALL over the place haha (and to be fair, I was for a while there).
Eventually all those pieces came together under the umbrella of Voice: how we express, how we create space, how we relate to ourselves and the other.
I already had those skills from tattooing,but I learnt to refine each one on its own. (Thank hindsight for bringing it all together…eeeeee sometimes you don’t know until you do!)

I’m all about creating safe intimate spaces for people to grow, respond and explore themselves.
Whether it’s through sound, play, or losing themselves in a painted landscape.
They’re all intimate worlds designed to stir the soul. Tiny pieces of paradise that help you connect to yourself and everyone else…

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A smooth road…Is it ever? haha SO. MANY. challenges.
Like learning to bring a dream into form and create all the way to the finish line. I can’t tell you how many projects I’ve worked on that are now sitting on a shelf at 80% completion.(anyone else?) …and it’s ok! They’re part of my vault, treasures at the ready, pieces of lessons.

Or like learning to work on bigger projects without being in co-creation.
What does it look like to create to completion without waiting on an external source to give me the green light ?
When I am my own authority and create a structure to flow into and get to the heart of the idea?

There’s also been understanding how my energy works depending on the season I’m in.
Exploring my relationship to time..Learning to slow down to better launch. Accepting to let go of a sense of urgency.
Man, it’s all a balancing act to get to where you wanna go, and hopefully you can learn to relax in the motion?

Sooo yes that’s a lot of challenges (that I come back to often).

I think one of the core challenges was repeat personal crisis that threw me off and affected my creativity.
In the last few years my art has been centered on building a bridge from the subconscious/the body to let stories and shadows out (…it’s a loooot more fun and relaxed than it sounds haha) my latest art show (an online art show entitled “You Spit & You Kiss”) is a result of that work and a reclaiming of the voice.

A crisis was a catalyst for this social commentary, and I want to address how it is possible to create a project with impact in the middle of a crisis, and have it bring you a sense of peace.
Crisis can be a road to empowerment if we learn to harness its energy (doesn’t mean it becomes easy or the crisis dissolves!). It is such profound work.

I know…it sounds heavy! We don’t wanna have to deal with crisis, so reading about it…but it’s a process that’s elevating and grounds you through it all.
Dare I say can bring you more joy than you think possible in the middle of some otherwise very shitty times?
Anyway, I’m in the process of writing “Crisis to Creation” an ebook that dives into the process and helps create from those moments.

Getting to the other side of it and finding that you’ve come out thriving and stronger because you chose to love yourself enough to hold your hand and create… Wow! I love seeing it and I can’t wait to witness what people are gonna bring to life.

I strongly believe that if we learnt to use the emotional charge of crisis to create rather than destroy, we’d see a whole new world sooner than we think.
It takes all of us, and I’m a dreamer, so that’s my vision!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Some of my work includes:

– “Orgasmic” an oracle deck I illustrated and co-created, published by Hachette in France in 2022.
– “Nouvelle Notification” an erotic audio series I co-created, co-wrote, and voiced. Became podcast #2 in France in 2023.
– “Eye of the Unknown” a painting collection exploring the subconscious, currently on display at Qusqo Bistro and Gallery in Santa Monica.
– “You Spit & You Kiss” an online art show and social commentary on motherhood, abuse, and intergenerational trauma.

Most of my work focuses on the individual – understanding how humans function and building tools to help people discover that for themselves.
It always comes back to feeling into our voice and learning to express it.

“Orgasmic” is about consciously engaging and playing with creative and sensual energy. While it’s connected to positive sexuality, it’s not just about sex- it’s about how we find that same energy in everything, whether it’s rhythm, boundaries, our body…

“Nouvelle Notification” delved into how we relate to the other and express this energy in relationships, and how we communicate within that space.

“Eye of the Unknown” explores the subconscious, inviting people to connect to theirs through symbols and archetypes that come to life in each painting. It’s incredible the wildly different characters and stories people get from the collection when they take the time to sit in front of the real thing! I love it.

“You Spit & You Kiss” marked a pivot into the collective after exploring the self, the other, and the unknown.
How do we transform a painful experience into something beautiful while speaking up on themes that are dear to our hearts and resonate on a large scale?

My work is open to everyone but it’s especially geared towards women.
Women, and particularly my daughter (she’s the beating heart behind everything I create!), are my endless source of inspiration. I’m deeply committed to uplifting them through my art and creating safe spaces where their voices can flourish and be heard.
I’m proud of the beautiful tools I’ve created, of the friendships I’ve nourished in co-creation, of the impact each project has had.

Soooo…what’s next for me (after my ebook Crisis to Creation), is to finish and publish the children’s books I’ve been working on. I can’t wait to break down complex concepts for children AND MAKE IT FUN, especially around emotional intelligence.

I also have a vision to collaborate with a period underwear brand and work on a mural. Excited to see what comes next!

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I remember being at my grandparents vacation home on an endless summer day. The kinds I am still nostalgic for when the breeze, the light and everything else feels just right. There was a big linden tree we’d harvest to make herbal tea, a shed that smelt of hot metal from all the random nails and tools my grandpa kept in there (hands down the most exciting treasure cave). I remember the sun coming through a small opening located above the wooden workstation and illuminating the little pieces of dust that moved in slow motion in the air, making them shine like pixie gold.
Next to the living room window sat an old typewriter, its couple dozen arms of steel, one for every letter, always ready to slap the paper at the touch of the corresponding ivory key. Click click click. -ok I’m getting excited now, going full book description-
They always had baguettes(us French people) in a bread box -the ones made of light oak with a colorful fabric bag inside. It smelt of comfort and fresh crumb. The backyard was fenceless and the green of the wild grass looked like it went on forever. The closest neighbor had some chickens and a couple tiny dogs. I remember being at the center of three big pines on the side of the backyard, ready to perform some medicine ritual I’d come up with on my aunt (bless her for playing along). My fingers were sticky with tree sap from collecting pine cones and feathers.
It felt like paradise, like home. I was about 6?

Disclaimer: I’m not sure how much of that is accurate because I drove past that house one day long after they sold it and a lot had changed, so I can’t tell for sure what’s fiction from what is true, only that I remember it that way. It left a big imprint. I loved that place so much!

Pricing:

• $49 – every original gold and rainbow 6×12 drawing from the YSYK art show are for sale.
• $1200 – “Genesis” Acrylic on canvas 30×40 inches – On display at Qusqo Bistro and Gallery
• $980 – “Burrow” Bold and bright original duo -only sold as a pair- acrylic on canvas 12×24 inches – On display at Qusqo Bistro and Gallery
• $650 – “Unraveled” Acrylic on canvas 16×20 inches – available at Qusqo Bistro and Gallery
• $1200 – “The Coin” Acrylic on canvas, on display at Qusqo Bistro and Gallery

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/coramickael
• Other: coramickael@gmail.com

Image Credits
Main picture of Cora Mickael by Tyler Aryai