Today we’d like to introduce you to Britt Michaelian.
Hi Britt, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My journey as an artist began at a very young age. My parents were both creative, but I don’t think they knew what to do with me. I was always drawing, which was fairly typical for a young child, but I also loved to build things and cut hair, and I wanted to act, write, and make movies. I made a lot of found object art, which my parents would often receive as gifts for holidays, birthdays, and just because. All I wanted to do was create! Unfortunately, this wasn’t a great thing when it came to school. I was a big-time daydreamer, and homework always came second to my creative pursuits. By the time I was applying to college, I had learned to focus a bit more on things I wasn’t passionate about in order to get by, but I had also lost touch with the super creator that I was as a child.
My road in life has been a curvy one with lots of twists and turns, but I did end up graduating with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy and art therapy. My art has been exhibited across the US with collectors around the world, and now I am a reiki master who incorporates healing energy into my work. So, the moral of the story to anyone reading this is to be okay with the journey. The curvy roads and stops and stops and starts are all part of the beautiful process of life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest struggle for me as an artist was to listen to my heart. My parents both worked a lot when I was growing up, so I was left to my own devices, which meant I learned to be good at a lot of things at a young age. I also am the type of person who likes to learn my own way, so I have had a lot of different diversions along my artist path.
While I was in undergrad at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I interned over a summer at a costume warehouse, and I would get hired out to work as a costumer on films. I had taken acting classes for fun prior to this, so when studio executives and managers would ask if I was the talent or if I wanted to be the talent on the set, it was tempting. And I would find myself questioning what I was meant to do. Should I follow my passions as an artist? Or should I listen to these industry people who were interested in developing a career for me as an actor? I ended up dabbling in acting for many years before moving to San Francisco and eventually getting my master’s degrees, working in a hospital as an art therapist, and connecting with an agent who got my artwork into galleries from San Francisco to New York and a few places in between.
But the diversions didn’t end. The super creator in me came back in a new form when I was a young mom. I began writing a blog about child safety since I was busy trying to keep my own kids safe. As I said, I like to learn, so I dug into everything I could – books, classes, webinars, you name it. Then, I wanted to share it all with other moms like me. I ended up making an informational film about child safety, speaking to thousands of moms (and nannies) about child safety at conferences, appearing on local and national television as a child safety expert, and getting really far away from my passion for making art. What looked like success to everyone else felt like I had dug myself into a hole I couldn’t get out of. I was so far off track. It was a fun adventure which ultimately morphed into my being one of the early social media influencers, working as a digital strategist for entertainment, retail, and technology companies, and waking up one day to the realization of just how far away from my purpose I had gone.
I guess the biggest struggle for me has always been recognizing the distractions and staying true to my purpose. As I’ve grown older, I find it much easier to stay on track.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When I first began exhibiting my art, I was classified as an abstract color expressionist. My work was often compared to Mark Rothko’s. In the past few years, my work shifted significantly as I became a reiki master and quantum healer. Now, I incorporate this into my paintings so they transmit healing frequencies where they are displayed. Most people who are familiar with reiki and energy healing go to see a healer for a reiki session, and my art is like a 24/7 healing. When someone purchases one of my pieces, I offer a healing certificate. This can be used to a personal healing, a home or office energy cleaning, or a group healing. Collectors find that my paintings provide a launching pad for them to use in meditation and inspiration for their own healing practices. Healers who offer services to clients like to have my work displayed in their treatment rooms to offer a boost in higher frequencies and as another modality for their clients to experience wellness.
Over the past few years, I have hosted Healing House, an art and wellness event where we explore my healing principles of grounding, inspiration, movement, nourishment, and gratitude while being surrounded by the art. It is a way for me to be of service to the community while also introducing people to healing art. This year, we were so blessed to have Kelly Noonan Gores, writer and director of the HEAL documentary and host of the Heal with Kelly podcast, speak about healing and energy to guests. Marcelo Shriman of the Akhanda Institute of Yoga in Rishikesh provided a beautiful sound bath and guided meditation to guests. Aubrie Wienholt of Wienholt Projects and Freddy Janka of the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara curated my art in the Garden Terrace room of the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was a smashing success and all of the guests raved about the experience.
Moving forward, I will only be offering private Healing House events to collectors. When they purchase a piece, they have the option to host a small gathering in their home where they will be treated to a healing sound bath, guided meditation, disco dance party, and gratitude tea ceremony in connection with their new healing art piece. This purifies the energy of their home while raising the vibration of the people, pets, plants, and places where the art exists. It also gives the collector and their loved ones a bonding experience of healing and love. For collectors who display my work in their offices, they are able to host an intimate Healing House event in their place of business as a great team bonding exercise and a way to bring positive energy into the workspace. Whether in the home or office, my art will transmit healing frequencies for as long as it is displayed, giving collectors not only a beautiful piece of art but a way to give back to the world through wellness.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I’m seeing a big shift in the art market where collectors are more interested in wellness. Whether it is the gorgeous, meditative large-scale paintings of Jennifer Guidi, the colorful, smooth, frequency-inspired work of Sami Hayek, or my work that incorporates reiki and healing minerals, the art world is opening up to energy and consciousness in new ways.
At my event, Healing House, Frederick Janka of the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara spoke about the history of artists exploring consciousness. He referenced Annie Besant’s book Thought Forms, written in 1905, which explores visual manifestations of thoughts and emotions and how they take form through color, shape, and pattern. Artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint explored consciousness in the last century, but now it seems that with the rise of meditation and quantum physics, people are more open to and seeking the healing aspects of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://Brittmichaelian.art
- Instagram: Instagram.com/brittmichaelian
- Twitter: Twitter.com/brittmichaelian
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1lZ8Kza8vCVmr6OswstYxQ
- Other: https://thedailyhealing.libsyn.com/site
Image Credits
Lauren Dauphinee
