Britt Michaelian
AQ is our series of hardcover catalogs celebrating extraordinary women artists. Available on Amazon. Visit the AQ Catalog Webpage to learn more.
AQ Volume IV artist Britt Michaelian is an artist and healer. Her painting practice incorporates sacred processes and rituals, such as prayer and intention setting, powdered minerals, soil from energy vortexes, sound healing frequencies, the use of herbs and essential oils, sacred geometry, and quantum healing to create meditative abstract works that explore the theme of universal life force energy while transmitting healing to the people, pets, plants, and places where the art exists.
Michaelian received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, graduate degrees in Art Therapy and Marriage and Family Therapy, and a certification as an expressive arts therapist in the hospital setting. The culmination of these studies, especially art therapy, led to her current practice that seeks to combine art and healing practices. Her art has been exhibited at galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and more, and is in private collections around the world.
Michaelian is an Usui and Karuna Ki Reiki master teacher and BQH quantum healing hypnosis practitioner. She practices daily yoga, meditation, and journaling as a way to clear her energy in preparation for creating art that transmits healing to the viewer. She is the host of The Daily Healing podcast, available on all major podcast platforms. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, daughters, two cats, and studio assistant (dog) Ziggy.
brittmichaelian.art
What inspired you to become an artist, and how did you decide to commit to this path?
When I was a kid, I was always making art. Drawing. Painting. Sculpting. Dancing. Singing. Acting. Telling stories. Always creating. But the moment when I decided to commit to the path of being an artist was when I left a four-year university to attend art school.
Could you share the story or concept behind your recent work?
In 2017, my only sister was diagnosed with cancer. Over the next four years, while she was in treatment, I became a reiki master, an ordained minister, and a practitioner of several healing modalities. I also learned that I could put reiki healing energy into artwork and that it could serve as a transmission for healing energy for as long as each piece exists.
What was the most challenging part of your path so far? How are you navigating this obstacle?
Without a doubt, my inner critic has been the most challenging part of my path. When I was younger, my father told me that art was a hobby and that I needed to pursue a real career, so in my twenties and thirties, that voice was loud in my head. When my mother (who was my biggest supporter until I met my husband) passed, I reevaluated everything.
What role does experimentation and exploration play in your artistic practice?
Incorporating energy healing into art is a pretty experimental concept. I also use ground-up rocks and soil from energy vortexes in Sedona, Arizona, and powdered minerals in and on the acrylic paint, followed by 528 Hz tuning forks to tune each piece to the frequency of love.
Do you have any start or stop rituals before creating?
Before I begin to paint, I turn on healing frequency music and smudge my aura, the paint on the palette, the minerals and soil I will sprinkle onto the work, my paintbrushes, and my studio. This process clears the energy so that every aspect of the work is pure and fresh.
What message do you hope your art conveys to the world?
My dream is for my art to inspire people to heal by loving themselves unconditionally. By choosing to bring a piece of my work into your home or space, you are choosing to love yourself, and every time you are in the presence of this work, that loving energy transmission will be received by all.
Share a mantra or favorite quote that keeps you going.
When you heal yourself, you heal the world.
