Rose Michael | Sylvia Tilly “Star Trek: Discovery”
“I was never into Trek when I was younger. I saw the Kelvin timeline films in the cinema and had a good time, but I never felt the need to go deeper until I saw Discovery. Every character was speaking to me and relating to me in ways I had never really experienced with media before, and soon as Sylvia Tilly appeared on screen, I was like ‘oh, that’s me?’ Tilly’s an anxious, nervous person who constantly pushes past those feelings to chase her many ambitions. I had severe anxiety and depression when I was younger, which hurled me out of school for a time and put all of my dreams and ambitions on hold. Eventually, I was able to work with and through it all and could begin to chase my goals. Tilly reminds me of the journey that I took, that I’m still taking. Seeing her grow across the three seasons of Discovery (so far), always nervous but always with an enthusiastic smile, bad joke, or a poorly timed swear just felt so real. She feels like me, and I’m grateful to see a depiction of an adult dealing with their anxiety in a way that doesn’t feel like a condemnation or a major plot point, but just as something that exists as part of their story while they succeed and thrive.”
— Rose Michael
Rose’s Bio:
I’m Rose Michael, and I’m a queer, non-binary artist from Australia. I’ve lived off of sci-fi and fantasy since I was an anxious young child, and though my love of Star Trek is (relatively) recent, I’ve found a home in the Trek universe and amongst the fandom. Currently, I’m a full time retail worker, but I have recently graduated from University, majoring in history and German studies. I have grand plans of returning to uni to study visual art and education, in order to become an art teacher, so I can be the same support and inspiration that all of my previous art/drawing teachers have been for me.
I work predominantly with digital art and watercolour, but I honestly love to dabble in all artistic mediums. I love bright colours, vibrancy, and magical realism, and over the last few years I’ve merged these loves and have been slowly working on a series of tarot cards depicting the characters of Star Trek: Discovery as the cards of the Major Arcana. It’s a slow passion project, but it’s been one of the most fulfilling projects I’ve ever worked on.