artist's interview: MARISSA ARTERBERRY, #2

Grandmother, Ancestor

it is an honor to share with you my second artist's interview with my sister, Marissa Arterberry. Marissa is "an artist in love with life and all its possibilities." she is based in Oakland, CA. here, for fun, is my first interview with her way back in 2010. love u so, guapa. our friendship is a lustrous thing.

from her "Funkstress Series," copyright: Marissa Arterberry

Marissa y Kelly en Brooklyn

MA & Baby Sage

1. kelly :: what are you working on right now, queen? Marissa :: ​Sooo many things! I'm painting a fan for Oshun, collaborating with a friend on a series of Oracle cards, storyboarding a children's book ... my artist brain is like a faucet, a lot shows up at once!

La Virgen de Regla

2. kelly :: what are some of your creative goals for the next 2-­3 years? Marissa :: ​I should preface my answer by saying that I'm coming out of a period of disillusionment with the "art world" that caused me to withdraw and really rethink how and where my work is presented. This questioning led to the presentation of an exhibit in my apartment where 40+ people showed up, and also showing my work primarily online through platforms like Tumblr and Instagram. So I feel like my goals, aside from completing projects, are really shifting. I have a house full of work, so I would love to manifest a solo show in the next couple of years. I would like to show work in a community garden (have always wanted to do an outdoor installation,) and get my work into some publications.

Untitled, Marissa Arterberry

3. kelly :: how does being a new mom influence your creative processes? Marissa :: ​Oh man, it's a fascinating journey! I work while he naps. Anytime my son closes his eyes, I try to pick up a pencil or a paintbrush. Sometimes it's only for 10 minutes, but the good thing about having such limited time is that it helps me to work with more focus and intention. I don't have time to hem and haw over a particular shape or color in a piece like I did before. I just have to dive right in to whatever I'm doing. So I guess creatively, having my son has made me bolder.

from the "Funkstress Series"

4. kelly :: talk to me about the pertinence of sisterhood in your life. does sisterhood as a concept and practice find its way into your art? your spiritual life too? Marissa :: I've been very blessed to have amazing women friends in my life (you being one of them!) and I'm deeply appreciative of these connections. I'm in awe of the divinity that surrounds me in the form of powerful women. My artwork honors the divine feminine, and conversations and experiences with my sisters lead to paintings. Or sometimes I'll see a woman walking down the street or through an airport, and something about her tells a story. So I make up those stories and paint them. For example 'The Journey' was inspired by a woman I saw walking through the Charlotte airport laughing with her friends.

"The Journey"

5. kelly :: one of my favorite drawings of yours is "Don't Mess With Me Oshun." kindly tell the folks about Oshun and if you care to, what influenced this painting. (sidenote: i'd love to get her tattooed on me w/ your permission.) Marissa :: ​Permission granted! It would be an honor. Oshun is a goddess from Yoruba culture who presides over fresh water and fertility, in a nutshell. She is the source, the life force. She is also very beautiful and sensual, and because of her sweetness, sometimes her strength and her warrior aspect is overlooked and she is taken for granted. But when she is taken for granted, things don't flow. This piece serves as a reminder that although she's sweet and graceful, she's also strong as hell and not to be messed with.

"Don't Mess With Me Oshun"

6. kelly :: i think it is really beautiful that you live in a community where your art is often part of shows. you also have lots of kindreds in spirit, faith, and community. are you feeling at home in Oakland these days? Marissa :: ​Yes, Oakland feels like home! My time in Brooklyn (the place I consider my second home) made me appreciate Oakland even more. I love the community and I'm excited to raise my son here. We got our little spot just in time though, Oakland is rapidly being gentrified, rents are skyrocketing and competition for housing is fierce. A lot of folks, artists and families who have been here for generations, are being priced out. I don't know what will happen when we need a bigger space.

"From the Sketchbook," Oshun-vibes

7. kelly :: we both have our "staples," like, the artists who inspire us visually, and those who we listen to at least weekly, etc. name a few of your staples for us. also, are there any new artists you've discovered who are speaking to you? ... i really love that feeling when you happen upon something new that excites the $*&# outta you, you know? have you felt that lately?​ Marissa :: My staples are for sure Kara Walker and Frida Kahlo. I'm also watching and listening to a lot of Stevie Nicks. Currently gobsmacked by these 5 artists: 

* Sage Stargate

* Emily Butterfly 

* Saya Woolfalk 

* Elrod 

* Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski

8. kelly :: so, this is a big shift, but i want to touch on it. there have been some really sad things happening to Black Men and Boys (in particular) at the hands of the police and racist groups for far too long. in recent times, i'm talking Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner ... each death brought me to my knees, literally. i think we both agree that discussions among "white and black folks," as you wrote in an email, need to be happening more in regard to these atrocities ​and ​about change ... how we get there. i acknowledge that it's really delicate stuff, but i was wondering if you could expand on two things. 1: what do you hope we achieve in having these conversations? are they happening in your circles? 2: you said in our first interview that, "I can't let a photograph of a lynching or the traumatic history of slavery just 'be.' My paintings and drawings essentially amount to 'laying hands on' a particular memory or person. At the same time, these healing rites are a celebration of life and survival, and the strength and beauty that emerges when one comes out on the other side of pain." when our world knows so much pain right now as a result of these continued unjust deaths, why is expression as medicine or activism in art so very important? Marissa :: ​Great question! The conversations need to happen so that we can hear and feel each other better. If we want real progress and change in race relations, we have to be willing to ask questions and have conversations, even when it’s tough. We have to have real conversations about the effects of things like white privilege and oppression, about trauma and what triggers us. Part of the reason these things have festered is because we are living on land that was stolen from Native Americans with industry built using enslaved Africans. Atrocities took place that carry a heavy energy with them, and from the beginning, that ugly truth and all that came with it has been glossed over and swept under the rug by those in power. This whole nation is choking on that silence and lack of acknowledgement. And some say "get over it," but that’s hard to do when we’re still dealing with the effects of these horrors in the form of institutionalized racism. Painful tensions will continue to boil over until we address these issues in a meaningful way. I was watching an awesome bell hooks talk recently where she spoke of giving someone a "loving critique." When we talk to each other, I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s speaking truth to power, and knowing the message is delivered with love even when it is hard to stomach. Art is part of the healing process. It’s a way to release pain, and to express what we feel when mere words are not enough.

Oshun Altar in Brooklyn

9. kelly :: we both have very active dream worlds. it goes without saying that you've painted scenes from your dreams ... tell me how your dreams have lent to your creative processes lately. Marissa :: To be honest, my sleep comes in such short bursts these days that my dreams are a blur, if I even have them! Abundance has been a running theme in my dreams lately. It comes in the form of money, food, cute baby clothes ... I’ll take it! Yemaya (Orisha goddess of the sea) has also been present. 

10. kelly :: i'm also interested in how your dream life impacts your waking life. what you got?​ Marissa :: My dreams definitely direct my prayers and rituals. A dream will inform me about a particular deity or ancestor that needs attention, and when I take action on those dream messages, it opens the door for blessings to flow in my waking life.

11. kelly :: if you received a grant for $20,000 today, and it could be used for art projects, supplies, and housing/family/life in general, how would you use it up? Marissa :: I would use it to purchase or rent a house somewhere down south, in Africa, or the Caribbean. A little artist's retreat for me and my friends! I would also use some of it for field research. I've been working on this big painting of Bahia, a place I've never been (but my soul has traveled to) ... it would be awesome to travel to some of the places my artwork is based on. 

12. kelly :: i've been talking a lot w/ Arhia lately about our lives as artists ~ they are full of beautiful challenges sometimes, but i'd not trade it in for anything. you? you wrote me that this artist's life is hard­wired into our DNA, and i agree with all of my heart in this truth. it is hard for our world (our parents, sometimes our communities) to understand this path. what do we do with our days? what is our job? how do we make money or aspire to make more? can you speak to all of this in whatever ways you are drawn to do so? i feel it is important to talk about it all, to educate others who may tend to judge our path rather than understand it ... Marissa :: Yes. It can be tough to explain to folks that you are following your calling and that if you don't create art you can't breathe. We live in this odd culture where we are bombarded with the message "do what you love," but if what you love is not immediately lucrative people dismiss it as a waste of time. As far as making money, I'm not very focused on making a living from my art at this point (maybe that will change one day.) I'm really enjoying making things, and I'm less into the business side. Because of that, having a job works well for me. I substitute teach and work in after school programs, which is work that allows for lots of creativity, so I enjoy it. We'll see how well I balance art, a job, and motherhood once my maternity leave is over! In a recent panel discussion about the arts in Oakland, Anyka Barber, owner of Betti Ono Gallery, said that part of the problem is we tend not to view artists as people, and that statement really resonated with me. Artists are not seen as people who need affordable housing, who have to pay bills and put food on the table just like anyone else. Our finished work is seen as beautiful and valuable, but the process of making it­­, our time, materials, having space to produce in­­ is constantly devalued by the larger society and that can be tough.

13. kelly :: what fruits and veggies you got up in your life these days? i know you're a geek for fresh goodies! Marissa :: Right now I’m very into cantaloupe, and also yams!

14. kelly :: and on a light ending note, what 3 shades of glitter are you most drawn to own and work with right now? we both love working w/ glitter ... Marissa :: I am OBSESSED with this pack of Martha Stewart super fine neon glitter I got! All the colors are spectacular, but I’m particularly drawn to the hot pink, neon fuschia, and neon orange.

"Mother Protector"

view Marissa's tumblr here !!!

~ plz appropriately credit the artist if re-sharing images on other sites. all artwork is originally created by Marissa Arterberry. xoxoxo y gracias 4 reading.

Oya