Born in Chiba, a suburb of Japan near Tokyo, Chie Yasuda began her study of art in Japan in a pre-college program. Inspired by Georgia O’Keefe, she later received her BA from the University of New Mexico.
Creating art is Chie’s deepest desire. For Chie, art is the most powerful way to connect to others and, ultimately, the world. Her art communicates joy. Her goal as an artist is to refresh and inspire all who encounter her art. Just as a jazz musician improvises music, Chie improvises in a variety of media, including ink, colored pencil, oil pastels, and Japanese pigments. She never approaches her painting with a detailed plan; rather, she observes the interactions between the water, paint, and paper and then responds to them in the moment, preferring to discover her outcome through this metaphoric “dialogue” with her materials.
Chie, along with her husband and musician Devin Ulibarri, are the leaders of MAP Family Learning Center in Malden, which provides afterschool classes and lessons for children in music and art. They are the proud parents of a young son Kei.