Who was that beautiful woman painting those backdrops at the recent FAF fundraiser you ask? That’s the lovely Michele Peraino and she is what this adventure is all about – championing the local artist.
What beats inside of FAFFER Michele Peraino is a true artistic calling that no trials of life could squelch. Speaking with her takes you on a trip through Jazz and paint, obsessions of Tesla and Dr. Who and her beloved family, all delivered with a relentless smile and an addictive laugh. ”I never thought of myself as an artist when I was a kid. I was told I would never be able to support myself being one,” Michele explains. Making what Michele would probably consider one of her greatest and most challenging of decisions, she gave up a full ride to college to have and raise her daughter. ”The only thing I did to support my daughter and myself was to work as an artist.” Her first job was as a graphic artist and art director in the days before personal computers when paste-ups were the technique of the day and technique had more to do with what was in your hands than in the software. She worked as a model and a designer and finally for a scenic company. Her boss immediately realized that she was a rockstar of a artist and the following week, Michele was painting backdrops and this is where she would start to find her stride. In the years to come, she would build, sculpt and paint scenery for The Wilma, The Walnut, the Annenberg Center, Mum’s Puppet Theater, the Arden, Carnival & Royal Carribean Cruise Lines, some TV, some Commercials and Infomercials.In theatre, Michele found compensation for her talents and an avenue of expression and love too. She met her future husband and eventually stopped working to have another child but her artistic drive would keep her brain and her hands going. She took classes in stained glass, pottery and dove into the culinary arts on new level. One mural for her daughter’s room and she was completely bitten by the muralist bug. Working for a time with her good friend and local muralist legend Hugh Luck of Pine Street Studios proved the perfect catapult for her own company where she could pick and choose from jobs that were close to home and family. “My set process in working is to stay organized, break things down to 3-4 processes, and keep your area as clean as if your Mother-in-law was coming to visit,” Michele says with her lovable sense of humor. While her meticulous process would prove successful, her passion would drive her, finding inspiration in the world around her, it’s movement.
Michele will tell you that she isn’t one thing, not any particular thing. She is many things. Her love for theatre would continue with local gigs from Gateway Regional High School and Rowan University but music would eventually call her name because true artistic talent tends to burst out of a person in as many forms as it can muster. Having developed a ritual of singing while painting, it wasn’t long until her voice would carry her on stage. ”I have two new loves in my life when it comes to art. The first new love is singing. I have always enjoyed singing in choirs and being in the back ground. However, I have found inspiration after watching all of my children all these years perform on stage as singers and actors. I have found something in myself I didn’t know I had,” explains Peraino as her bookings with her jazz group Swing That Cat continue to grow. You can catch this act at the popular Carolina Blue for their 5 Year Anniversary on August 22 at 7pm. The second is of creating cool SciFi and Horror prosthetics which with a bit of practice could lead to FaceOff in March 2014. For Michele, there will always be new adventures whether it’s murals or music, sets or costuming, body painting in exclusive arts venues in Philadelphia or bringing her talents to the design team of The FAF. For those of us on the committees of the festival, we’re thrilled to have her on our team. You can catch her backdrops on the stages of The FAF and Michele will be performing live with Swing That Cat in the Wine & Cheese Experience on Sunday afternoon so don’t miss her!
