Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcia Marshall.
Marcia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been a lifelong artist. From my childhood days of drawing profiles in pencil from the back of comic books, to teaching art on luxury cruise ships while circumnavigating the world to having a synergistic relationship with Chicago Jewish Funerals, art has always had a “front row seat” in my life. Even when I served as a consultant for dental practices or guided clients in my life coaching practice, I incorporated art in exercises, using it as a fresh way of seeing situations and discovering solutions. My goal has always been to encourage people to see life though a creative lens. Always evolving, it is no wonder that I have taken another new path that “marries” art with death.
Our lives are often captured in moments of time: photographs in settings that evoke memories, reflect relationships and even our business connections. These images get stuffed in old shoeboxes or are laid between sheets of plastic in photo albums that are rarely opened. Occasionally, “the best” are framed to hang on the wall or grace a table top, but often those images become lost in the background of our day-to-day lives.
After experiencing a significant loss, I felt driven to channel my grief in a way that would lead to my own healing. As if I were guided by a divine hand, the next step I took as a portrait artist was both easy and natural: using images of people who have passed away, I create portraits with vibrancy and life, reflecting the people we remember. Artistic energy, photo references, a myriad of art materials and my personal observations combine to breathe life into what I see and feel in each person. Photographs of beloved individuals have become treasured portraits that grace homes and “speak” to us through a creative, artistic dynamic.
The uniqueness of each portrait is not only meaningful for the family of a deceased, each person becomes a part of my journey to connect, comfort and heal. I believe that our loved ones are never really gone; I help create another way of looking at them, through an enduring, cherished work of art.
Has it been a smooth road?
Life is never smooth. My goals have always been to take what is most difficult and challenging and reframe it. Thus, grief becomes joy. Mourning becomes celebration. While we always feel our losses, when a family commissions a portrait or is gifted one, sadness is replaced with wonder and delight.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Marcia Marshall Fine Art story. Tell us more about the business.
As an artist, I work in a myriad of ways, from teaching art to adults on land and at sea to commissioned portraits of subjects who may be dead or alive! My art is distinctive because “I draw dead people.” People imagine me working next to an open casket. I don’t! I use photos supplied to me by families. It takes a measure of “bravery” to create something that others might find macabre. Rather than finding my subject matter disturbing, I find it very comforting. As I draw in pen, my hand dances across the paper, each stroke infusing more life in the portrait until the work feels complete and my subject is looking back at me, filled with energy. I love what I do. I love what I create. I love that I am able to give so much peace and happiness to mourning families. My work is incredibly satisfying, comforting and unique.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Art is always evolving and artistic trends cannot be predicted. I am excited by all of the possibilities that we can create.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marciamarshall.com
- Phone: 847.651.8505
- Email: marcia@marciamarshall.com
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