We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marianne Lettieri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marianne below.
Marianne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Exiting my successful career as a communications consultant to become a full-time visual artist was a huge risk. Leaving a known world to pursue an uncertain destination, I felt a bit like Frodo at the beginning of his big adventure.
Decades earlier I had earned a BFA degree at University of Florida, worked as a graphics designer, and eventually landed in the Silicon Valley of Northern California where I practiced public relations and marketing for some of the world’s most influential technology companies. I knew the infrastructure of that world, the language, and how to navigate its obstacles. Everyone was caught up in a mission to change the world — one computer at a time. By the end of the millennium, I came to the conclusion that for me, art was a more powerful change maker. I made the decision to jump ship.
After the jump, you have to swim, and at my age that meant swimming fast. I had to figure out how my segment of the “art world” works, who are its influencers, what is the language they speak, and more importantly I had to develop my art skills. To truncate the process, I went back to school and got a MFA in Spatial Arts at San Jose State University. For the past 20 years I have enthusiastically built an art practice that includes exhibitions of my art, art residencies, teaching, curating, and arts administration. Part of this success is due to the knowledge of teamwork, persuasion, risk taking, and resilience that I honed in my previous career.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My art constructions investigate shifts in cultural values associated with historical artifacts and salvaged materials –– objects of domesticity, tools of hand labor, toys, clothing, sticks and stones. I assemble them into new configurations, reinforcing the interconnectedness through time of people, communities and the natural environment. My art quietly protests a world that rushes and clashes so much the enchantment of everyday is sometimes lost. I want the work to be disruptive of the status quo, to generate an examination of what is important in the passage from past to future.
My work has been shown in museums, universities and community galleries across the country with solo exhibitions at Arts Fort Worth, San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, Facebook Corporate Headquarters, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, Doug Adams Gallery of the Badè Archaeology Museum (Berkeley, CA), and many other venues. I am currently working with two artists on an ambitious art exhibition about wild places for the Michelson Museum of Art in Marshall, Texas that will open in February 2024.
Numerous books and art journals have featured my work, including Placemaking and the Arts by Jennifer Allen Craft, Art-Making Collections & Obsessions by Lynne Perrella, Image Journal, SEEN Journal, Sand Hill Review, and Ruminate Magazine. In 2017 SVCreates recognized me with an Artist Laureate Award for achievement in the arts and contribution to the cultural life of Silicon Valley. I currently live and work in a rural area southwest of Fort Worth, Texas.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Being a successful fine artist is not for the feint of heart or unpersevering. In addition to putting in the serious studio hours required to make our art and managing all the business aspects of an art practice, we have to handle the inevitable rejections.
I like to say, if you aren’t being rejected, you’re not really trying to get your art out there. Most artists have experienced their fair share of being told no by a gallery, residency, granting institution, or an exhibition call-for-art. Dealing with rejection is not easy, but we must move through the disappointment if we want to continue growing.
I try to use rejection as a tool for advancement. For example, I might ask for feedback from the juror, research the awarded artists to see what might have been a better approach, or do an honest assessment of my proposal so I can improve it for the next time. I’ve found it helpful to attend art business workshops, build professional relationships, and think strategically about my place in the greater art world — find my niche and work it!
Here’s an example of how I used rejection as a tool for advancement. For a while, I really, really wanted a spot in a highly competitive artist residency with a municipal dump/recycling center. I tried for five years, writing fabulous proposals about how I’d make use of the residency. I even had other, highly respected artists critique my applications. Nothing. I couldn’t even get to the interview stage. But through the process of applying and accepting the disappointments, I learned so much about how to craft a great proposal! Eventually I moved on and began looking at residencies and exhibition opportunities elsewhere, and found success.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The book, “I’d Rather Be In The Studio” by Alyson B. Stanfield was a tremendous resource (and still is) when I was making my career transition to being a fine artist. Alyson gives practical advice and guidelines for self promotion and art practice management. More information about her art service is available at ArtBizSuccess.com.
For artists who are contemplating a career change, take a look at the book, “Wanted-A New Career: The Definitive Playbook for Transitioning to a New Career or Finding Your Dream Job” by Marlo Lyons, an HR business executive and professional coach. My story is included in the first chapter.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MarianneLettieri.com
- Instagram: mariannelettieri
- Facebook: marianne.lettieri.7
Image Credits
Wenying Liu, phtographer. Website – https://www.wenyingliuphotography.com