- On this website! We ship them all over the US. Click here :)
- At indie shops, galleries, and bookstores! The number is few but growing. Check ‘em out :)
- At an art show! michelle travels the country selling her artwork and the books. toby goes with. Here’s the schedule :)
- Timing. While we had already done a lot of the conceptual work, it was March of 2020 when we decided to really push and bring “Of Land and Sky” to life. By June 2020 we were shipping it to customers. It was a small but important financial boost at a time when we really needed it. Getting it done is 3 months would not have been possible with a publishing company. And we couldn’t wait.
- Creative Control. We had a vision and we knew there were some things we wouldn’t be willing to compromise on. It had to be a books of poem and not story driven. We weren’t going to simplify or change Michelle’s artwork, or the titles, or any of it. We were worried that an editor or an agent might try to convince us to turn it into something more conventional. And we were desperate not to do that.
- Dead-end anyway. On every publisher’s website (big or small) they advise looking at their existing catalog to determine if the book you hope to submit would fit with what they do. Our books are not a fit for any existing catalog. What we do is unlike what anyone else is doing. It seemed to us that all attempts would be fruitless. Who would take a chance on us? No one but us. As always. ;)
by michelle mcdowell smith
I didn’t originally consider the art I create to be for children.
However, I do recognize that the subject matter I use, and the aesthetic that I create, is dreamy and often reminiscent of a scene from a storybook. My intention with that has always been to elevate the sense of wonder and optimism which we felt as children – and then which we lose as adults. I’ve done it to try and show how the innocence of youth is astonishingly powerful and breathtaking even, and how it shouldn’t be dismissed or devalued.
And I’ve felt that this is different than creating art that is specifically for children. Read more by clicking here.

We are a two person, independent venture of artwork and poetry. Michelle McDowell Smith is the artist and her husband Toby is the poet and writer.

Michelle’s current art endeavor, which operates under simply under her name, Michelle McDowell Smith, has been ongoing for more than a decade. Over that time she’s built a body of work with a specific aesthetic and a consistent, yet still evolving, thematic message. She continues to create new pieces which speak to things she’s experienced, or which reflect on her ideas about life. Her artwork is the impetus for everything we do.

We see the poetry as working to expand the reach of what she’s doing and creating. It broadens the range of people who are exposed to her artwork, while also creating new paths of connection. The voice they hear and the words they read reach them in a way that alters how they feel and what conclusions they make about the art. And the conversation between the poem, artwork, and the viewer/reader is inspiring, thought provoking, and, at times, emotional.

Michelle in front of her piece, “Forever in the Foothills” in 2023. The piece (now sold) is 48”h x 60”w, acrylic paint and collage mixed media on canvas. It will be included as part of the couple’s next book poetry, Moon Song, tentatively scheduled in late 2026.

the artist - Michelle McDowell Smith

A contemporary painter and mixed media collage artist, Michelle earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1997 from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a major in illustration and minor in art history.

The body of artwork from which the books are derived from began in 2014. Her original intention was to create art that was softly surreal with a storybook sensibility. She wanted it to feel hopeful and aspirational, yet also include themes reflecting on disappointment, loneliness, and the loss of innocence.

Curiously, she did not initially see her work having a place in a children’s book. But paths meander and one road leads to another. You can read more here.

Toby is a full decade into the full time job assisting Michelle with running her art business. He is also the official poet for all of her creative endeavors.

Every poem is written after Michelle has already completed the artwork. He is there as she goes from initial idea, to sketch, to collage, and then finally to painting. Along the way she talks in broad strokes about what she thinking and trying to convey. She rarely gets specific or definitive. She is truly a visual artist, and she leaves the words to him.

The synergy that has come from their shared history – marrying in 1997 and raising three children together – is palpable. His poems and her art are more together than they would otherwise be alone. Read more here.

the poet - Toby Smith

Toby in 2023 with the re-release of, Of Land and Sky. Originally published in mid-2020, the book still charms new readers. And while “The Civilized Fox” is the star, folks love the bear on the bed, the stag with the birds he watches over, and all the rest.

Our personal story, stretching the decades

written by toby smith

Michelle and I met in May of 1991 in Jacksonville, Florida. We were both attending Terry Parker High School, and I was in a pre-calculus class which was being taught by her mom. One day she came into the class to ask her mom a question or to chat with her, neither of us remember exactly. I saw her come in and recognized her from normal hallway crossings throughout the year. I leaned over to a friend and asked if he who she was and they said, “That’s Mrs. McDowell’s daughter.”. I was stunned. From the perspective of teenagers, their teachers don’t have personal lives or families.

We eventually met and began dating, but that ended shortly after I graduated (I was a year ahead of her in school). We kept in touch. Stayed friends. Wrote letters. And went on a second first date in December 1995. In July of 1997 we were married in Memorial Park in Jacksonville right on the St. Johns River. More to come…