Hello!
I'm Ayaka, watercolor and embroidery artist making mixed media artworks.

My art journey started in 2017 as a stay-at-home mother of 2, and one thing to lead another, I became a mixed media artist operating this shop and raising three children.

My Etsy shop has become a destination for my fine art prints and greeting cards. Since I'm a perfectionist and have very high standards for quality of my art, my prints are always made with best quality materials, printed in-house so the details (especially the stitchings) are captured just like the originals, and printed using archival inks and archival surfaces so my prints last over 100 years.

Every single order supports my art, myself, and my family. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity to do what I love and to make other people a bit more happy when they look at my art.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Ayaka

About Me:
I grew up in a small town in Yamaguchi, Japan, and spent my childhood creating art and sewing stuffed dolls. When I was 11 years old, my family and I moved to the USA. At the time, I faced language barrier and realized that art was a universal language. Art became not only a leisure activity but a form of communication and expression, a way to connect with others. I went to Syracuse University and got a degree and graduated in 2009 with a BFA in Fashion Design. I currently work from her home studio in Lake Orion, Michigan in the USA with my husband and three children.

Artist Statement:
My process begins intuitively, then transitions into exploring the role of unnatural element. I incorporate embroidery details on top of paints, utilizing the stitches much as a painter uses their brushes, creating depth and movement with the thread. My intention is to reflect the beauty that nature offers, while at the same time, explore the role of unnatural elements that exists within it, how human's desires can turn something so imperfectly beautiful into something artificial, synthetic, and too perfect.