Today we’d like to introduce you to Marla Faith.

Marla, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Art has been my language since I was a young child, my mirror of bringing the inner world out. It has been a healing journey that has grown my skills and clarity through the exploration of color, form, and meaningful images. I have taught studio art and art history to people of all ages in public and private schools and in museums in Chicago, New York, and since 1990 in Nashville. I enjoy sharing stories and guided meditations, and helping people enter into, and grow their individualcreative expression. Art has helped me move through difficult personal times, like an invisible therapist who reveals symbolic images. Making art is my way of bringing more beauty and light into the world. It is a spiritual pathfor me that becomes a form of prayer. Mostly I make mixed media collages with upcycled scraps of my own art and found detritus. I also create serious oil paintings (mainly portraits), as well as intuitive drawings.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My definition of success has changed since wanting to be a famous artist when I was in kindergarten. Making art has been the continuing thread throughout my career during teaching and directing museum programs. I was a fine artist resistantto being commercial to please others, so I made my living through teaching instead, which turned out to be an unexpected joy! Over time I realized that the process of creating was more important than having the art sell and be lauded by the public. I admitted that I was making it for my own needs and pleasure, and it wasn’t realistic to expect others to respond to it the way I desired. I have had many exhibits (including at the Nashville Parthenon, Airport, Scarritt Bennett Center, etc), have been included in a multitude of group shows, and have some collectors of my art. I am prolific, continuing to make much personal, unique work.  I now believe that success is in being true to oneself, overcoming envy and bitterness, witnessing one’s own growth as an artist, and as a person in the relationships we have with others. Society’s standards of monetary success and fame no longer entice me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m known for original one-of-a-kind poetic small mixed media collages that are most often colorful and spiritually uplifting. I consider myself a narrative colorist since most of my art contains figures or animals and alludes to stories. I often use jewel tones and harmonious color combinations. I’m also known for my oil-painted portraits, especially the series of women in nature. Unlike typical collages made from magazines, my materials are generated from my own reused artworks which I combine with fabrics, paper scraps, paints, and 3-dimensional elements. Composition flows through balancing shapes, colors, and textures. I’ve published 3 full color books of my art and poetry, in which I’ve united thematic art and poems that compliment each other. These are on Amazon and my website. I love to teach and offer workshops when invited too.

In my oil portraits, I capture the essence of someone’s spirit as well as a real likeness. In these paintings, the background is an integral part of the atmosphere. I mix rich colors, and the paintings exude depth, joy, and sensuality. My Abundance Series features 13 large canvasses of Nashville women in nature. These women represent the diversity of people who live here. They were painted over the course of a year, and are posed in different outdoor settings which include oversized fruits and vegetables of each season. The goddess-like women smile out at the viewer, representing Mother Earth who cares for all, showing us that we are One beyond our different costumes. These paintings are on my website. I also accept portrait commissions.

What are your plans for the future?
My aim is to continue to be present, and open to receiving, expressing, and sharing love, truth, and beauty through visual art. I would like to find a permanent, public home for my Abundance Series of large oil paintings. I would like to exhibit and sell the trove of art that I continue to create daily, since I believe that art really comes alive when it’s on a wall being seen and appreciated. Making art is the first part of the interactive experience, the second part is the relationship that the art has with viewers once it leaves the artist’s hands. I hope that people will enjoy visiting my healing art museum at marlafaith.com.

Pricing:

  • Oil portrait commissions, depending on size, range from $700 to $7,000.
  • Small mixed-media collages range from $150-$500.
  • Works on paper range from $250-900.
  • The Abundance Series (6-foot tall paintings women in nature paintings) are $5000-$10,00.
  • My poetry/art books are around $25 each.