Marielle Mariano
I'm an artist-art educator-art therapist who, in my spare time, am the East Coast Coordinator of the international arts organization CHALK4PEACE. As an artist I've exhibited work in a variety of media internationally as well as in the US. I don't necessarily classify myself as a photographer but I have been using various photography techniques to execute my work in the past 5 years.
Artomatic 2012
Once upon a time… a princess grows up
A new take on some old stories.
Like many little girls, I loved fairy tales and dreamed of my own “Happily Ever After.” But, over the years, I realized how malleable and varied “ever afters” are. We may start off wanting the fairy tale but we learn to create our own ever afters. I wanted to convey the changing nature of the story that is our life.
As I mature as an artist I am fascinated by the manipulation of the image, especially the delicacy and flexibility of Polaroid emulsion lifts. I found that the patience needed to create this work, and the unpredictability and imperfections during the process became a great metaphor for our life stories.
The images in this series were years in the making. Some of the images were photos processed in the dark room from black and white film, from slides, and the rest taken with a digital camera. All images were converted to a digital image, processed into a slide, processed and then printed as Polaroids whose emulsions were transferred to paper. After drying, these Polaroid emulsion lifts were scanned to produce other digital images. These were edited before producing the final prints.
As a whole, the images together represent modern changes to some beloved fairy tales and embrace other ever afters. They reflect various experiences in my life and the lives of women who were kind enough to make me a part of their lives and share their stories. Their kindness, love, and friendships have been an inspiration to me and because of that I leave this dedication:
"To all the fabulous princesses in my life. You bring me strength and love unconditionally. With or without our Mr. Rights, we have each other to share lives that are always amazing adventures. No matter what ever after you choose, may it be filled with lots of love, laughter, family, and great dear friends."
Marielle is an artist, art educator in the Fairfax County Public Schools, art therapist, and the East Coast Coordinator of the international non profit arts organization CHALK4PEACE. She has exhibited her work internationally as well as nationally. Among her exhibits this season are Artomatic 2012, a group show in Damascus, MD, and an upcoming group show at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC.
For more information about Marielle’s work feel free to visit the following websties:
http://www.artistmarielle.com
http://princessesgrowup.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/artistmarielle
http://www.chalk4peace.org