Salma Arastu was born in Rajasthan, India. She has been painting for more than thirty years, since graduating with a Masters degree in Fine Arts from MS University, Baroda, India in 1974.

Her work with continuous and lyrical line is influenced by her native culture and her residence after marriage in Iran and Kuwait before coming to the US in 1987.

Born into the Hindu tradition in her native India, she later embraced Islam through her marriage. At birth, Ms. Arastu was given the life-defining challenge of a left hand without fingers. Seeing the unity of an all-encompassing God, she was able to transcend the barriers often set-forth in the traditions of religion, culture and the cultural perceptions of handicaps. Her personal triumphs have been defined and shaped by the simple principle of faith in The Divine, as the compelling force which has guided her life and work. As a woman, a Hindu, a Muslim and a multi-cultural artist, she sees a unique opportunity to create harmony and world transformation through the expression of The Universal in her art.

Ms. Arastu has won many awards for her art. Her works are represented in several galleries, including Artjaz gallery in Philadelphia; Monsoon gallery in Bethlehem, PA, Hot Mango Pickle gallery in Palo Alto, Chandler Fine art in San Francisco. Her work is also included in hundreds of private collections in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, India and the Middle East. In addition to her participation in various major group shows, she has held thirty-five solo shows throughout the world, including the US, Germany, Kuwait, Iran and India. In 2000, she served a six week artist residency in Germany. After maintaining her studio in Banana Factory in Bethlehem Pennsylvania for several years, she has moved to California and her studio is located in the Sawtooth building in Berkeley, CA.

In addition to her prolific painting, Ms. Arastu has also written several published works of free-verse poetry and short stories in her native Hindi. She continues to write and provides eloquent prose to accompany her paintings for gallery showings. Shortly after arriving in the US, she became an entrepreneur with the creation of Your True Greetings, a successful greeting card company that uses her paintings and calligraphy to serve the needs of Muslim communities in the US, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.

www.salmaarastu.com