Michiko Smith

Michiko Smith grew up in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, Japan. She immigrated to the US in 1981 and became an American citizen in 2000. After residing primarily in the vibrant Los Angeles area, she relocated to scenic Hamilton, NY in 2011, but recently returned to Southern California. In California, she studied painting and design at Oxnard College and fabric dying with Sestuko Hayashi.

Through a close friend she became interested in New Age beliefs over forty years ago. Michiko started painting in 1992 after observing a brightly colored mobile of tropical fish. She considers her work to be New Age healing art and creates her work from the viewpoint that one can feel peace, love, passion and positive energy by experiencing colors, shapes, and through the resulting vibrations of happiness.

In 2005, Michiko accepted an invitation to join the Los Angeles art group LELA (Lantern of the East, Los Angeles) International. Michiko was selected to join the New York City based National Association of Women Artists (N.A.W.A.) in 2014, and had her work displayed in nine N.A.W.A. group shows. Recently she joined the Women’s Caucus for Art (Southern California).