Michele Cassou was born in Marseilles, France, and started to draw and paint when she was five years old. Her childhood was filled with dreams of inventing and creating. She created art by way of every possible method and material available, while innately refusing to engage with traditional structures.

At 18 years old, however, she reversed the direction of her work and enrolled in traditional Parisian art classes, hoping to increase her power of expression. This approach threatened to destroy the connection between her work and her feelings. She escaped by joining a free expression studio for children. It was there that she discovered the magical force of spontaneous painting.

She spent more than three years in that studio. By painting freely, with children, away from all traditional rules and concepts about art, she soon understood the amazing life-changing potential of creation. She discovered for herself the basic principles of making art: unrestricted choice and spontaneity. She reached what she calls "the point of no return", which is that point at which creative expression has moved to such a deep level that one cannot imagine living without it.

This discovery immediately led to the desire to share it. Small groups soon gathered in her Paris home, where she transformed her bedroom into a painting studio. She questioned why people did not allow themselves the freedom to create. Through observation and experimentation, she began her lifelong search for the understanding of the creative process and how to share it with others.

As a young woman, Michele moved to Ottawa, Canada, where she continued to paint intensely while teaching her methods of free expression at the University of Ottawa. A few years later she moved to California, named her process the Painting Experience, and began teaching classes and workshops. Her own art progressed intensely. She is now known internationally for her groundbreaking work of using painting as a tool for self-discovery and for exploring the spiritual dimensions of the creative process.

Now, living in San Rafael California for 25 years, she has trained many teachers the world over and continues to teach workshops and classes.

Michele has authored several books:

Painting between Worlds: A Life of Creative Passionate ** (Released May 2020)

Life, Paint and Passion

Point Zero, Creativity Without Limits

Kids Play, Igniting Children's Creativity  

Teachers that Dare, Using the Creative Process to Teach the Creative Process

Answering the Call of Creativity, A Radical Approach to the Creative Process Through the Discovery of its Key Principles

The Buddhist Art Doctor, Prescriptions for the Creative and Non-Creative Seekers

Questions to Awaken Your Creative Power to the Fullest

Her DVDs and Downloads chronicle her painting journey and her unique teaching. By showing her own paintings she describes how she discovered the freedom to paint and how we can all tap into the deeper energies of creation.

She lives and works in San Rafael, California. Michele enjoys guiding her eager and inspired students on their painting journeys, and is currently writing her next book on the deeper layers and metaphysical aspects of creativity.