I am so honored to share that my story has been featured in VoyageMichigan’s Rising Stars series, highlighting my journey as a Michigan artist, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and disability advocate.
The article, “Rising Stars: Meet Melissa DiVietri of Michigan,” shares more about my life, my creative purpose, my accessibility advocacy, and the heart behind the work I continue to build through art, children’s books, public speaking, and Blue Entity.
You can read the full feature here: https://voyagemichigan.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-melissa-divietri-of-michigan
A Michigan Story Rooted in Resilience and Purpose
Being featured by VoyageMichigan is incredibly meaningful because Michigan is where so much of my story began.
I was born with sacral agenesis, a rare physical disability that has shaped how I move through the world. While my disability has brought challenges, mobility changes, pain, and barriers, it has also given me a powerful perspective on resilience, accessibility, creativity, and community.
My journey has never been about pretending life is easy. It has been about learning how to keep creating, speaking, advocating, and showing up even when the road is difficult.
Turning Challenges Into Color, Storytelling, and Advocacy
As an abstract artist, I use bold color, movement, texture, and emotion to express the parts of life that are sometimes hard to put into words.
Painting has become one of the most meaningful ways for me to turn pain into purpose and challenges into visual storytelling. My artwork reflects resilience, healing, identity, love, movement, and the beauty that can come from difficult experiences.
Through art, I am able to connect with people in a way that feels honest and emotional. Each painting carries a piece of my lived experience as a disabled woman, and my hope is that others see themselves, their strength, and their own story inside the work.
My Journey as an Author and Disability Advocate
The VoyageMichigan feature also highlights my work as an author and advocate for disability awareness.
My service animal, Oreo, inspired my children’s book “A Tale of a Service Animal,” created to help children and families better understand the role of service animals with kindness, respect, and inclusion.
I also wrote “The ABCs of Disability Etiquette” to help educate children and communities about how to respectfully interact with people with disabilities.
Through bookstore signings, storytimes, community events, and public speaking, I am using these books to open conversations about disability representation, accessibility, compassion, and self-love.
Building Blue Entity and Expanding Accessibility
Alongside my artwork and books, I am also building Blue Entity, an accessibility-focused technology initiative designed to help businesses better understand digital inclusion.
Accessibility is not just a professional mission for me. It is personal.
I know what it feels like to be excluded from a space, overlooked, or treated like accessibility is an inconvenience. That lived experience is why I am so passionate about helping businesses, organizations, and communities create spaces where more people can feel seen, valued, and included.
Why This Feature Means So Much
This VoyageMichigan article is more than a media feature. It is a reminder that our stories matter.
For me, being recognized as a rising star in Michigan represents every moment I kept going when life felt heavy. It represents every painting, every book signing, every accessibility conversation, every public speaking opportunity, and every person who has connected with my story along the way.
I hope this feature encourages someone else to embrace what makes them different. I hope it reminds people that disability does not take away purpose, creativity, leadership, or joy.
Our differences are not weaknesses to hide. They are part of what gives us our voice.
Read the Full VoyageMichigan Feature
Thank you to VoyageMichigan for sharing my story and creating space for local artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and advocates to be seen.
You can read the full article here:
https://voyagemichigan.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-melissa-divietri-of-michigan
Thank you to everyone who continues to support my artwork, books, advocacy, and mission. This journey is rooted in purpose, and I am so grateful to keep building a life that helps others feel seen, inspired, and empowered.
