Michal Ashkenasi was born in the Netherlands. She emigrated to Israel in 1951 and settled in kibutz Gvar-Am , where she married and lived for 17 years. After leaving the kibutz , the family moved to an agriculture school in the vicinity of Haifa .

In 1980 she began painting and a year later went to the Haifa University to study art. With the end of her study , she became a member of the Horev Studio in Haifa , where she worked with the late G. Davidovitz for 2 years and , after his death , with the known Israeli artist , Jacob Zim , for several years.

From 1990-1996 she had her own studio and gallery in Sefad and was a member of the Artist Colony there. Nowadays she lives and works at her home in Kfar-Saba .

She is a member of the Israeli Association of Painters and Sculptors from 1987. She is also a member of the ” Point of View ” Group in Kfar – Saba , which is a group of 12 artists with the goal of working around an idea and exhibiting together. She is a member of the I.C.U. organization in Haifa .

Ashkenasi’s work is purchased all over the world and can be found in collections in Israel , the USA , England, The Netherlands , Germany , Romania , France and Italy .