We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maribel Ramirez-Bohnenkamp. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maribel below.

Maribel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Honestly, since the early age of four, I had known I wanted to be an artist. We’ll fast forward to my senior year of high school in 2009 and I attended Fine Arts Day on a whim at our local community college. The energy every student gave on campus was infectious and at that point, I had not applied to college let alone think that I had what it takes to be an artist. The end of the day arrives and the portfolio showcase was in full swing with the visual art department heads leading the viewing for prospective students. Inspired by the energy and excitement of the day, a friend and I rushed back to the high school to pick up my portfolio and returned the college.

Mike Fell was the professor who approached me and asked to review my portfolio. My heart was pounding in my throat and my hands were shaking with nerves. I meagerly present my portfolio which included an 18×24 charcoal self-portrait that was dramatically lit. I held my breath in anticipation; what would a college professor say about the images, the things I took so long to create? Mike, impressed, took the artwork to showcase to current art students in the department. I remember him saying, this is where I want your artwork to be to some of the individuals. I was nonetheless embarrassed, shocked, and speechless.

Mike walked back with my artwork and offered me a full-ride scholarship to the community college. That was the moment I realized I have the potential and could pursue art professionally. It was a realization that I could simultaneously go to college and do what I truly love doing the most, create!

Maribel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hola! My full name is Maribel Ramirez-Bohnenkamp but I enjoy going by my artist name, Mardie. I am a Mexican-American mixed media artist. Mexico’s traditional art forms and craftsmanship inform and inspire the paintings and designs I create. I’m fascinated by the traditional craft of “papel picado”, cut paper, that adorns banners for celebratory moments. The colorful images derived from pop culture, such as the infamous Loteria, also springboard to inspire the imagery I create.

I work on painted collages that delve into the topics of death, self-reflection, and the experience of being a Mexican-American. The cut paper designs gravitate towards bright colors and interact with the painted compositions that include traditional Mexican symbolisms. Inadvertently, I find hand-cutting designs into paper is comforting, as it is physically demanding and it also helps me become closer to my own culture.

I’m open to commissioned works and create portraits of pets and loved ones in my artistic style. My mission is to share my experience as a Mexican-American artist through the imagery and craftsmanship that is utilized in Mexican culture. Growing up in two different cultures oftentimes leaves me wondering where I belong and creating bridges the gap to a better understanding of the two worlds.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m currently juggling two careers, art education and artist. Luckily, both careers coexist with time management being crucial to the stability of being able to do this. Initially, I had not planned to become an educator until I realized I enjoy helping youth realize their creative selves. I will admit, there are times creating artwork takes a backburner to education, especially during competition/student showcase times. During these times, I pivot to working on smaller artworks that are outside my realm just to keep me curious and busy working on my own thing. I’ve learned that I cannot completely push my own artistic practices aside for a prolonged period of time, it really ends up putting me in a bad place mentally. As long as I can work with my hands or brainstorm ideas during the insane school happenings, I am fulfilled in my need to create. These are constant changes I have to work around in order to be where I want/need to be for my artistic practices.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Behind every artwork are countless hours of sketches, practice, mistakes, and losses/wins! Viewers are experiencing the final draft of a long journey, it is a snippet of that final moment in time. In reality, before I begin an artwork, I brainstorm by creating rough sketches and writing notes on possible compositions. Before I hand cut paper, there is a meticulous plan on how positive and negative spaces will interact with the paintings and their clarity to the entirety of the composition. There are also hours of cutting challenging shapes from paper and making sure there are no mistakes or slip-ups. Even after the hours placed into multiple areas simultaneously, things may ultimately not work harmoniously and I am back to step one.

In the end, the artist’s path to the final image is a challenging but rewarding one. We get to share that with an audience that truly appreciates what we put out into the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: mardieart13.wixsite.com/mardieart13
• Instagram: @mardie_art
• Facebook: @MardieArt