Meet our Featured Artists for Million Dollar Quartet, Mia Schulte and Judith Smith. Their work will be shown in the State Theater Lobby throughout the production, from June 18 – July 19, 2026.
Meet Mia Schulte
Mia Schulte was born in Turkey and grew up in a family that traveled and lived in many countries throughout Europe and the Middle East. Mia moved to Washington 19 years ago, and currently resides in Olympia. She was selected as one of the featured artists for an exhibition at South Puget Sound Community College entitled, “Drawn to Abstraction: Four Artists, Four Visions.” Her work has been exhibited in over 50 exhibitions, including a show at the Prince Street Gallery in New York City. Most recently her work was selected for the Hollywood Movie “AVA.”
Mia Schulte: Artist Statement
My art is a reflection of all of the influences in my life. I often think about a painting long before the image materializes. I look to nature for my forms and shapes, and look to my emotions/experiences for my image.
I work on the floor so that I can have a 360-degree view and feel closer to the work. I often apply multiple layers combining the various mediums such as acrylic, ink, pastel, charcoal, etc. The painting evolves with each new layer as I proceed to clarify the message/feeling that I want to express. I am interested in painting about my impressions of a place/experience, and thoughts about life in general.
Having studied and worked in various styles, I found that when I began working from memories, it was as if I had found home.
Meet Judith Smith
Judith earned her undergraduate degree in Art History at the University of Pittsburgh and her post-graduate degree in Bio-Communications (Art As Applied to Medicine) at the University of Toronto. Currently she lives with her husband, and a standard poodle named Kafka, in a 115 year old farmhouse in Thurston County, WA.
Judith Smith: Artist Statement
Coming from a background in medical illustration, drawing has always been
my strength. Pastels afford me the opportunity of drawing and painting at the
same time. I am generally wary of brushes; I love the direct involvement of
pigment between hand and paper. For me, pastel is the only medium that
truly captures and employs the electricity and intensity of color in painting.
It is indeed “Magic Dust”! I use it now as an integral part of my mixed
media work and also in my encaustic paintings.
“Whatever I choose as subject matter, my focus follows form and color, then
line, and always beauty. I believe that beauty is inseparable from power and
content; these are important considerations in my work.”
