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

the fruit forest

the fruit forest

by: kelly shaw willman

illustrations: Marissa Arterberry

project copyright: 2013-forever

please contact: kellyshawbianca@gmail.com 
for permission to share/re-publish.

* * * 
thank you to the eleven real life women who volunteered their energy to the development of this project ~ each became a warrior in this story, and each chose their own warrior name. 

* * *  

atop a cliff that overlooked a quaintly roaring teal ocean, were eleven square miles of land belonging to ruby edwina, a woman whose skin was purple and her eyes the color of blueberries. 

ruby edwina

ruby shared this land with hundreds of fruit trees, bushes, and vines. fruits from all over the world grew together in one place. it didn’t matter if the climate wasn’t ideal for one fruit or another ~ it grew anyway; there was something especially nurturing about the sandy soil.

 

a different woman tended each square mile of ruby’s land. the women referred to their paradise as, the fruit forest, simply. each woman had a story, a lost love, and a favorite dress or seventeen. 

 

a woman called dirtstomper was the first to show up at ruby’s fruit forest. she’d been working for some time on a boat, and needed a steady place to plant her feet. dirtstomper’s special gifts included growing root vegetables, making music, and reading palms, though she took to harvesting fruits quite naturally. dirtstomper laughed a lot, a laugh so silly and loud, that sometimes it caused apricots to fall off the branch! 

 

dirtstomper

one day, while paying close attention to some ripening persimmons, dirtstomper heard a creature clamoring about near the pear trees. it was probably just a baby fox, thought miss dirt, but hmmm ... the sounds kept getting louder, and was that a sneeze? a rather loud sneeze? pears don’t sneeze!

dirtstomper did not feel afraid. she and ruby regularly cast spells (using amber stones and lavender flowers) that kept only goodness growing and scary trespassers at bay, so … who could be sneezing? just then, a pretty little lady with a necklace made of small glass horses stepped out from the pear trees.

littlegoldenhorse

 instead of a hello, the woman who’d emerged from the pears looked at dirtstomper and neighed a few times, quiet little neighs. dirtstomper let out one of her infamous belly laughs and moved towards the woman, who’d begun to speak: "i had a dream last night about the fruit forest. three little bluejays lead me here today. i’d like to meet ruby edwina, please."

the rest is quite simple, really. dirtstomper took the new girl, named littlegoldenhorse, to ruby’s field of strawberries. a brief conversation ensued wherein ruby learned that littlegoldenhorse’s gift was speaking to animals. the new girl also was a master at styling hair and make-up ~ seemed that a funky fashion show in the fruit forest was inevitable.

... and so, this is how it would go. over the course of a few months, a new woman would arrive (when her time was right) at the fruit forest. as aforementioned, ruby, little by little, was able to designate a portion of land to each woman. each grew her own herbs, her own food, and tended to the fruits that were already there. the women made jams, salves, juices, facials, bubble bath, jewelry, muffins, and popsicles out of the fruit that grew and grew and grew and grew and never stopped growing. they shipped their goods off, and made + saved money.

esmerelda and daisy

so now, let us meet all the ladies of the fruit forest, and paint a story with sweet scenes. esmerelda and her little pup, daisy, specialized in growing grapes and saving kittens. every evening, as the sun set, esmerelda and daisy could be seen sitting at the fruit forest's highest point, throwing grapes into the mouths of hungry clouds.

and princess parsleythunder coaxed the rain to come when the fruit forest was too dry. princess also had a special touch with pomegranates ~ she kept them growing plentifully year-round, each batch more juicy than the last.

princess parsleythunder

and goodness, there was strongbird, whose flight-song was inspired by sparkling red raspberries. her dancing smelled like watermelons, her breath breathed stories of prehistoric flying creatures, and her ability to break down the toughest bundles of thorns matched esmerelda's. both strongbird and esmerelda peeked their heads bravely above adversity, and worked all the harder for it. 

strongbird

   

and welcome to the fruit forest, khadejah, who'd ridden into view on a larger-than-life bunny, her spirit animal and b/f/f. khadejah could really work it ~ she kept the ladies entertained with her booty shakes and made some bomb bikinis. she kept a close eye on the coconuts and pineapples, thank goodness.

khadejah

   

okay, now close your eyes and count to eleven. really, go ahead. ... and now you're ready for queen inannamama, who was personally delivered to the fruit forest by a ray of sunshine, for real ~ a glowing yellow ray enveloped her body and set her down gently amongst guanabana and mangoes. it was a surreal and giggle-worthy scene for the other ladies who'd arrived before the queen. can you imagine? … in the midst of harvesting fruits, here is this voluptuous darling touching down from the heavens to join your posse. you might want to close your eyes and count to eleven again ~ imagine it!

queen inannamama

we have next, the adoringly gentle momma-do-shine, who'd envisioned a life for herself that was pure-eyed and centered. new baby in stow, momma-do-shine worked with vigor amongst all forms of citrus. her skin always smelled of oranges and cinnamon, and her baby's eyes were milky, telling. momma-do-shine spent plenty of time sitting at the foot of trees (getting re-grounded) as well as at the shore of the ocean, with whom she regularly chatted.

 

momma-do-shine

... and the last two women of the fruit forest arrived just moments apart on the same drizzly morning. princess parsleythunder had summoned gentle rains through the early afternoon on this particular day, because the sun had been very strong for awhile.
 

beehand

  

beehand swam to the shore of the fruit forest from a neighboring island, where she'd slept the night before. she noted right away that the air smelled of dampened lilacs. she stood up straight, breathed it in deeply, and plucked a straggler baby octopus from her foot. she placed the creature back into its ocean-home. the smell of lilacs grew stronger; it tickled beehand's nostrils. as if lead by some swift breeze, beehand followed the lilac aroma to a sprawl of peach trees, where all nine women were waiting for her. the rain was light, and so was the mood.

but before beehand could introduce herself, the earth beneath the peach trees began to rumble. the rumbling wasn't terribly intense ~ it didn't knock anybody over, but it surely surprised everyone. the rumbling was steady for about two minutes, and then, amidst drops of rain, downdowndown came metallic gold tinsel ~ short bits of it, longer bits of it, bits that soon enough covered the rumbling ground of the peach grove. 

 

indigo pannonica

a lime green fawn had been summoned to the scene by littlegoldenhorse. the fawn placed her nose to the ground, shook herself off, then stepped back … and from a small crack in the ground appeared a colorful glowing woman named, indigo pannonica. the women collectively smiled. there were now eleven in their posse, and it felt right, whole.

the women each took a moment to examine the scene: light drops of rain, the scent of lilacs, the shimmer of gold tinsel, a lil' green fawn, the sigh of the ocean in the distance … the women began to giggle at their strange magic ~ no one needed to say much. beehand was given the peach grove to work and indigo would focus on blackberries and papaya. 

 

once freed of rain, the afternoon was the perfect time for the women to prance around in their new fluorescent bikinis from khadejah. littlegoldenhorse styled everyone's hair into a fierce up*do and painted their faces with stripes and gloss. the posse enjoyed some fresh guava juice, then ventured to their favorite stretch of beach. 

 

one by one, the women dipped their toes into the tide, but something felt bizarre. there was lots of splashing just a yard from their little feets, and upon closer examination, it seemed that hundreds of baby sharks were the stirrers of the water. slippery little bodies, gray and silver, hundreds of baby sharks. 

 

and in the distance ... was that? ... could it be? a parade of baby tigers marched atop the water towards the sharks, towards the shore. bikini-clad & in warrior-spirit, the women stood side by side, examining the scene in slight disbelief. surprisingly, things grew even more peculiar. about five yards out, a wall of mother sharks (in a line mirroring the women) stuck their shimmering noses above the water, a gesture that meant, “we are on your side, and keep watching, you'll see.”

baby sharks, baby tigers, mother sharks, and a wait that felt too thick ~ what was coming for them and why, wondered the women. ruby edwina began to giggle quietly, dirtstomper started humming a song, littlegoldenhorse summoned a swarm of butterflies, esmerelda nonchalantly made a sandcastle, princess parsleythunder pulled rubies from her pockets, strongbird stirred up the scent of watermelons, khadejah whistled for her giant bunny, queen inannamama painted her nails, momma-do-shine wove a shield, beehand dripped honey from her fingers, and indigo pannonica whirled her rainbow lasso confidently.

the mother sharks stuck their noses even higher up, the baby sharks wriggled more wildly, and above the heads of the women now floated dozens of baby tigers. at first, the baby tigers purred and played. then, they came together in a giant snuggle, growled, and turned into a poof a pastel smoke. from the pastel smoke fell packets of wildflower seeds and glittering emeralds. the women noticed that the baby sharks had swum to their moms, and so, ruby edwina made a pile of their goodies, and looked to the women, who took a collective big breath in and out ... and entered the salty warm water.

it is what it is, it was what it was, always a bundle of magic somewhere. the women understood that they possessed the power to experience great beauty, to make great beauty, to come together and thrive. eleven ladies swam until dusk, dried near a fire, and dreamed that night about orange mountains vibrating as brightly as their blood. 

Marissa's poem 4 me

keeper of the flame
wounded warrior
sparkling priestess
you shift between worlds
spread truth across realms
as everything you touch
changes
blooms
is healed
bestowing dreams
messages
blessings
upon the universe
you
a bright blessing
wrapped in ink
a powerful message
old and wise
as a tree
deeply rooted
in the sacred
a rainbow being
as you walk forward
the earth is different.

(copyright Marissa Arterberry: 2011-forever)

Postmodernism

Marissa Arterberry asks:

What are your thoughts on Postmodernism?

Do you consider your work in any way Postmodernist?

kelly: discussions about Postmodernism, in my experience, very quickly become too heady, and i am not attracted to this kind of interaction often. i am additionally not attracted to the exercise of labeling myself too much. i acknowledge the dichotomous nature of my proclamations however, which lends to the vibe of what Postmodernism is: a concept that in and of itself is hard to define, a concept that proves the difficulty of intellectualizing art. ... about dichotomy: so, we’ve got things (feelings, personality traits, elements of nature, etc.) that in their oppositeness rub up against each other like curious confused kittens. we cannot deny the existence of dichotomy everywhere in our world. there is a place of holy worship just feet from a war zone. perhaps you’ve been "in love" b4, but delusional about what ~healthy love~ really is. the ocean is calm and fascinating, but sometimes violent and hella polluted. the feelings created by opposite things merging are the very foundation of Postmodernism. as aforementioned, i prefer few labels on my work or on my sleeve, but i gather that my preference for ambiguity and bucking what’s come before are Postmodern ideas. let me tell you what i think we’re really up to tho, because it’s beyond Postmodernism. the community of artists that i gravitate toward is operating from spaces that are more energy-based, more mystical. sounds are words. color and iconography (in placement and mere presence) equate efforts to communicate a deeper meaning: something of the spirit, of a life past, of a shape shifted, of a message received, of a dream. while such concepts are not absent from art movements of before, i think a newfound fixation on this creative magic is much more intensified within my inner-circle of art-fam. i think my friends (we yung emerging artists) are quite conscious of our purpose to create a new movement, one that is even more difficult to touch with text and analogy. everything is becoming much more experiential, sometimes so wordless that it remains a shadow for a long stretch of time ... until we accordingly morph to greet it //depart // over n over.

The International Museum of Women's Blog

friends,

~ ~ ~ i am super stoked about this article, created by my dear friend, Marissa Arterberry.

check out my interview for The International Museum of Women's blog:
here

lady-roars, 5

^ beauty ~ ~ ~

!!! welcome to lady-roars, 5 ~ !!!
i initiated free*form conversation with fellow women creators about art, identity, and whatever else.

~ ~ ~

Marissa Arterberry is a visual artist working in the realms of painting, illustration, and installation. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Marissa graduated with a B.A. in Painting from San Francisco State University. She writes for her own arts blog, Black Butterfly, as well as for Her Blueprint, the International Museum of Women‘s blog. She has exhibited work throughout the Bay Area as well as in Chicago and Brooklyn. Marissa currently lives and works in Oakland, California.

~ ~ ~

I think that being an artist is one of the most wonderful professions a person can choose, as well as one of the toughest and most misunderstood. It is getting up every day and creating something special to share with the world, and it is having no guarantees that work you do (and it is work ~ there are some folks who don’t view it that way) will keep a roof over your head or put food on your table. Because of that, the people drawn to this profession are deeply passionate and committed to what they do. Sometimes that is all you have.

What I’ve learned is that part of working as an artist, especially an emerging artist, is having to be your own cheerleader a lot of the time. Everything will be picked apart and questioned by others: the nature of your work (shouldn’t you be doing something more commercially viable?), what it is that you’re trying to “get” at the end of the day, a run-down of how you haven’t made any money at this supposed career of yours. I’ve heard it all, and it never stings any less. But what hurts more is to give in to those pressures and to try to be someone else. I try to just face the music and learn to deal with it by finding something else that feeds my soul, to counteract all the criticism. I can't hide from it.

I know that I’m going to be creating all of my life, because it is like breathing for me. Art is the first thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning, and there is nothing more satisfying than making something by hand, purely out of my imagination. It’s so much fun!

Right now I’m in a phase where my work wanders off the canvas more, which came from this time where I was too broke to afford paint and canvas. At first I was very frustrated, and felt like I couldn’t do anything. What I did have was a bunch of old sheets of watercolor paper, and watercolor paints (which last forever since a little bit can always be reused). I began to paint characters on the paper and cut them out. I found colorful yarn and ribbons cheap at craft stores, and made hangings out of my cutouts, with big trails of yarn and ribbon. I’ve been creating altar installations with the cutouts, and not a scrap of paper or ribbon goes to waste. I found out I can always make something somehow.

check out my full-length artist's interview with Marissa by clicking HERE.

artist's interview: MARISSA ARTERBERRY

the queen herself,
Marissa Arterberry

all pieces displayed below 
are original creations by: Marissa.

She is the Universe

Map

Funkstress

Azmera and The Tar Baby

Marissa Arterberry is a positively vibrant young artist whom i had the pleasure of meeting while we both were getting on our feet in New York City. i was drawn to her warm smile, funky fashions, Ma’at tattoo, and her genuinely caring demeanor. originally a California girl, Marissa currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

about her creative work, Marissa writes, "My work centers around rituals created to heal a collective history, and I focus on women as the conduits for these self-created rites. 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."

may you enjoy this super rich unveiling of my first long-distance artist’s interview. 
queenly insights ahead, no doubt.

kelly: Marissa! an honor it is to interview you. tell me, what drew you to New York City at this point in your life? how long have you been there? … we have similar stories in that we both recently parted from the city ~ you returned. how do you feel about your return? MARISSA: Wow, ecstatic really. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to come back a little stronger and wiser, with both eyes open to the realities of living in this city. In my return, I kind of think of myself like water. I really did just have to let go (of preconceived notions, my issues surrounding materialism and material possessions, so many things!) and just allow myself to flow into this place, and trust that I would be taken care of, and that if I was patient, the things I needed would come my way. I didn't try to force things the way I did the first time around. I learned to breathe and appreciate what was right in front of me.

kelly: how are you creatively impacted by New York City? lay it on me real. on the flip, tell me about your California home and how you feel inspired by that place too. MARISSA: Wow, well as most people know, space is at a premium in New York. It's expensive just to pay rent, much less have a studio space, and the spaces New Yorkers occupy are usually quite small. It definitely altered my creative process and the way I relate to space. I've always painted these big bright canvases, but becoming a New Yorker, the spacial and economic realities of it, pushed me off the canvas. I couldn't afford canvas, and didn't have space for it either. That's when I started to explore works on paper more. I found books on the street that I tore the pages out of and made little watercolor and ink pieces on, and I've started creating this series of hanging figures from cut paper and yarn (stuff I can buy cheap) and that has revealed so much for me about my work in relation to the space around it. So I would say being in this place has lead me in some exciting new directions. In northern California, the art culture is much more open and outdoors, which was great. I would set up at all sorts of festivals, paint collaborative murals in front of live audiences, that kind of stuff. There's a lot of interaction between the artists and the community there. Folks are painting outside, having public viewings at their studios, and participating in all sorts of community projects.

kelly: you’ve been quite fortunate to do some yummy traveling. what inspires you about the places you’ve visited? how do these inspirations live in your art? and what places do you itch to experience next? MARISSA: I have had some very exciting journeys, each taking on very interesting forms. I traveled to Costa Rica with my science class, and we spent our days hiking the rainforests and studying plant and animal life, and visiting these amazing preserved wild areas of land. I traveled to Ghana with 3 Black Studies professors, tracing the journey the kidnapped/enslaved Africans took, from the villages all the way to the dungeons on the coast. We poured libations and laid so much baggage down there. A poetry professor also took a bunch of us to Quebec for the huge FTAA protests that occurred there a few years back. That was an eye opening experience, seeing all these people come together in various forms of resistance, and witnessing the realities of a police state. These journeys have influenced my art on so many levels, but the main thread through all of it has probably been the interconnectedness I've found with people all over the world. My travels showed me that we have so many common struggles and dreams. They showed me the importance of sharing my own story and perspective as a positive voice. People around the world will hear it and share it. Next for me will have to be Brazil. That place is calling to me in my heart and my bones.

kelly: let’s talk about influence. i know you love Kara Walker. i know you are crazy-inspired by music and dance too. you also seem to be a flowerchild/butterfly all your own. so, what artists, musicians, eras, and colors give life to your processes of creating? MARISSA: Oh wow, it always comes back to music. It's kind of funny, I study the lives and work of musicians more than I do visual artists. So much of what was going on in the 1960s and 70s inspires me. You had so many new scenes exploding: folk music, soul music, funk... and the art that came out of it: the psychedelic Fillmore concert posters, amazing album cover art like Santana's Abraxis, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, all the Parliament Funkadelic album covers were just out of this world. I watch a lot of old films, documentaries, and kid's tv shows (old Sesame Street clips especially!) from that era, just soaking up colors, patterns, and themes. As far as visual artists go, aside from Kara Walker, I'm also inspired by the work of Ana Mendieta and Frida Kahlo. I admire their fearless self-exploration.

kelly: i love that you are a writer. atop all your mad talent in the visual realm, you have a skill that i think is super important for all artists to exercise. talk to me about your stories, blogs, and other writings. does your writing connect up with or inspire your painting? MARISSA: Yes, the writing connects with my paintings in so many ways. My ongoing series, Azmera's Journey Back to the Electric Homeland, is a series of paintings and drawings based on a story I wrote. Also, when I come up with the characters I paint, I often give them names and backstories; it definitely takes the work to places it wouldn't have gone otherwise. The blog I write has also been a lot of fun. I get to pick the brains of some super-talented artists, document art history as it's happening, and connect with so many fascinating people.

kelly: you love fruit. you love vegetables, lol. gimme your top 6 fruits and top 5 veggies, por favor. MARISSA: Veggies: spinach, bell pepper, collard greens, cucumbers, carrots ~ ~ ~ Fruits: strawberries, grapes, nectarines, mandarins, pineapple ... P.S. CANNOT MENTION MY LOVE OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES WITHOUT GIVING A LIL SHOUT TO MY AMAZING HEALTH NUT FATHER, WHO KEPT THE KITCHEN FULL OF THEM!

kelly: you love music. gimme your top 4 female artists, top 4 male artists, and top 3 groups. MARISSA:

Female:
Phoebe Snow
Joni Mitchell
Erykah Badu
Roberta Flack 

Male:
Prince 
Stevie Wonder 
Jorge Ben Jor 
Bob Marley 

Groups: 
The Beatles 
Led Zeppelin 
Santana 
Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66

kelly: alright, queen. let’s play the alphabet game. please gimme an alphabetical list of words (one word per letter) that communicate feelings of enjoyment, creativity, likes, loves, self-description, etc. this is a freeform exercise intended to line us up with your coolness. MARISSA: 

A- Authentic 

B- Beauty 

C- cathartic 

D- dynamic 

E- ecstatic 

F- figurative 

G- goddess 

H- happy 

I- interesting 

J- joyful 

K- Knowledge 

L- love 

M- mindful 

N- never-ending 

O- open 

P- purple 

Q- queen 

R- Marissa forgot this one! i vote: rockin'! 

S- squid 

T- turtles! 

U- uninhibited 

V- voluptuous 

W- wind 

X- xylophone 

Y- yes 

Z- Zora Neale Hurston

kelly: talk to me about some of your favorite creative accomplishments. also, i’d love to know what you are currently working on … and what events have you recently been connected up with in the city? ... what do you see for yourself in the near future as far as creative work goes? MARISSA: The project I'm currently working on is a yet-to-be-titled installation in my bedroom. It's inspired by the theme of Osun in a modern-day context, Osun's daughters. I am putting together music, photographs, paintings, and letting it all bleed into performance. I'm creating a large interactive altar that will take up one wall of my bedroom, and having a very small gathering to view it. I'm enjoying the intimacy of the entire process, and the act of creating this little golden realm. I'm also super proud of my Funkstress series, a series of big bright paintings of goddesses inspired by funk music and costumes. It has been so much fun to just put on some Parliament and paint! And the series has been very well received, which is always exciting. I've been connected with a lot of events in the city; it's all kind of a wonderful surreal blur. I've been filming a lot of events for this wonderful Brooklyn-based creative website, Society Harriet's Alter Ego. I received a cute little Flip Mino HD cam from SHAE and I go to different art events and capture performances (like yours!), interviews, and all kinds of groovy stuff. 

kelly: lemme just say to our readers that something i really appreciate about Marissa is her openness in communication through dialogue, letter writing, emails, and dreaming. Marissa, when you moved back to Cali after your first go with NYC, you were open with me about your processes of self-healing during this time of realignment. how does the concept of healing influence your being and creation? MARISSA: Healing is really at the core of all my work. Growing up, I was always a very happy and optimistic little person. As I got older, I learned that things were not that way for a lot of people around me. For a long time I got teased about being "too happy.” A lot of my art came out of wanting to spread that joy I felt inside. I wanted to make other people smile, or help them feel healed. Everything I've done has pretty much grown from that.

kelly: ~ Yoruba ~ Oshun ~ Women ~ Blackness ~ Sisterhood ~ Ancestry. talk to me about these things. MARISSA: …Well, as far as Blackness goes, my very first and very best lesson came from Kermit the frog when I heard him sing 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' The songs parting words are, "I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful/And I think it's what I want to be." When I grew up, I was surrounded by so many people trying to tell me what a limiting thing Blackness was. They would go on and on about how being Black meant you could NOT do this, you could NOT do that, you could NOT associate with certain people. They defined it as this very narrow existence of isolation, struggle, and hardship. I think that is ridiculous, because Blackness is magical. It is a magical state of being that holds so much ancestral beauty and diversity. And if I look to my ancestors, I don't feel limited at all. I feel like I can do anything, because they overcame obstacles I cannot even begin to imagine. I will not boo-hoo about that. I will cry tears of joy for their powerful strength and resistance! And speaking of magic, Osun. Her name literally means "source." She is water, a source of ever-renewing life, of power within. Osun has helped me to find my own strength, to heal, and to find my center when I lose my balance. Her strength runs deep. An elder woman once told me, "Osun talks to you." I have never forgotten that, because I feel it. She comes to me in visions, and visits me in the form of hovering honeybees and random pumpkins left on the street! Sisterhood... something I'm so very appreciative of. I am so blessed to have the most lovely group of powerful and creative sister-friends. If I need a hug and some tea, or to go out, wear flowers and howl and the moon, I could not ask for more wonderful people to do it with. My sisters keep me smiling.

a very special thanks to Marissa for this awesome interview. ❤