We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Cline a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maria , appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

With each medium I use, it’s been a similar process: I have had to learn to listen to the craft through my body & to work with it — rather than make it work for me. There’s a certain level of respect and cohesion I think is necessary to have any medium flourish in your work. A lot of what I do is self-taught through an informed background. A way to speed it up…don’t focus on the mistakes and just let it happen. Things will even out in the end. Patience, intrigue, and fortitude were very essential skills for me. Most obstacles I have come across have been my own body and mind, or some sort of lack of access to learning further.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a multifaceted, artist, writer, and teacher living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, exploring the communal themes of nourishment and care in the context of the body and its tactile and somatic experiences. During my time at MCAD, I worked at a local fine-dining restaurant, which proved to have an impact on my artistic practice as hospitality and table-setting became habitually profound. A fifteen-year background in dance also informs my practice.

My people-gathering, being-centered work stitches the connection between mind and body that life’s events can often sever. This currently births through the form of functional and decorative table linens, intimate poetry activities, embroidered tapestries, and up-cycled clothing. Working with materials and processes such as poetry, embroidery, curating and hosting, my pieces gently hold the reader and participant, handling reflective themes calling attention to the self that might otherwise be overlooked. My work holds space for the thought, What does it mean to be in a Body? How can we most be in this delectable moment, in these Bodies of ours?

I have always been creative and knew I would make a creative life and career for myself. Currently, I am focusing on selling table linens and handmade pieces, both generally available through my website and at occasional markets. Please note I am currently taking orders through direct emails & messages only.

I am proud of my Body for doing this life with me, and for showing me my disabilities are sacred even when my mind had long turned off that route due to hardship. I want people to know that each piece is created with much focused intention. Each order or commission is treated as a delicate collaboration between our two bodies — the catalysts to our business here, even in this article.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Firstly, art is necessary to life and is not a luxury. I have often wished artists were more respected — you know, those artists who aren’t well-known or raking in millions — like the artists writing to you, here. Art surrounds us; the amount, quality, and type of art dictates the tone of our experiences in this world.

Pay artists for their time! Give artists opportunities! Don’t slap unnecessary fees on artists! I think people overlook just how cumbersome it really is to gain traction & success as an artist, especially when the center of an artist’s practice is so much heart and not just a business strategy. A society that protects and nurtures art is a society that is nourishing itself in turn. Creativity should always be celebrated and never stifled, regardless of how indirect that stifling may be.

Make galleries accessible and inclusive! This goes for any art event, too. Accessible in every way, not just a cherry-picked access need.

Lastly, artists support artists! The community here in Minneapolis is absolutely incredible, warm, and innovative. I hope everyone can experience a community like this. I hope those endeavors are supported outside of the immediate community, too.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect for me is the privilege to share my perception of beauty and ritual and to let that extend through everything I do. To be able to be a part of this banquet of other artists and to devour their perceptions just the same. The creative humans I have met and built community with over the past recent years have been irreplaceable. I think we as artists show care in a specific way. Seeing the fruits of emotional labor or personal or collective reflection is just beautiful in and of itself. To remind myself of this each day, so it is never taken for granted. I’m really just in awe of my creative peers.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariacline.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maria_cline/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-cline-/

Image Credits
Ben August, Maria Cline