About Marijanel

How can I share with you who I am as a creative person, the person I am outside of being a wife and mom? (which has always come first).

I'm a Multi-form Artist. 

This means I have many faucets in which I express creatively. The question I've heard most often in my life is,  "Is there anything you don't do?" It's a flattering question but also awkward to answer because the truth is...NO, when it comes to the arts there isn't anything I don't or can't do.

My friends call me an octopus. My creative arms move many directions with one clear minded goal:

I use my talents to the best of my ability, to demonstrate freedom for others in the art.

What does that even mean? Truthfully, I'm still discovering the answer, but this much I can tell you now...

I count myself blessed to have lived a life immersed in the creative arts. My years are layered with having developed myself in music, dance, photography, clay sculpture, painting, and many other creative endeavors related to art and entrepreneurism. 

Now I’m in my forties and I look back seeing that each decade marks a season where I mastered skills and used my creative voice to express freely, pushing through creative barriers. Often I didn't even realize what I was doing, I just moved from one artform to another because my spirit led.

 I’ve both failed and mastered these many artforms and I’ve learned equally from both experiences.

I'm a photographer, illustrator, painter and podcast host.

I'm also a licensed hairdresser and have stayed at it for 23 years. 

Some know me as a potter. My sculptures have sold in galleries. 

Some know me as that lady who paints cute animals for storybooks. I published my first children's book in 2000.

I also make soap. I like to cook plant-based cuisine. 

One day recently, after a sweaty spin, my class instructor said, “When I look at you I see the lady who produced all those kids music albums” (yes I did that too!) I founded a children's music production when I was only 22 years old and I learned some of life's tougher lessons through that endeavor.

There's so much more I could tell you. But I'll save that for the memoir I've been writing for the past decade. Or better yet I'll launch a memoir podcast so you can hear it from me in person.

For now, here's how I see it... creative freedom is to move seamlessly from one medium to another (if you want to) never seeing the difference, always welcoming the expression. Being an artist is a way of life, of breathing and moving, it's not only about mastering a medium. I used to compartmentalize and try to organize all my talent into neat little explainable labels like "I'm a photographer" or "I'm a painter" when none of those can sum me (or you) up. 

None of the labels or titles define us. It's just simple...

I'm Marijanel.

You see, as artists we not only master the medium, we master the expression, and expression is the most difficult to develop because it requires you to truly know yourself.

All these years I thought I was learning art when really I was learning Marijanel.

The artist is one who should know themselves.

 As you can tell my artistic story is one with many twists and turns on the path to discovering myself as an artist and understanding my creative identity. This is why I'm passionate about  helping other creatives discover their destiny and confidence in their identity sooner than I did. I will be offering a creative mentorship program by spring 2022.

I believe everyone can experience creative freedom and everyone's story is unique. I believe in YOU.

Love,

Marijanel