We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marie (RIE) Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marie (RIE) below.

Marie (RIE), thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Art never felt like a possible life or career… it was playtime. I did have an aunt and uncle at the time who worked in the creative field. In digital arts like special effects and creative game software, just to name a couple things they did. I remember going to their house and learning of all the cool projects they had worked on. I see now that it was a pivotal moment in my creative career.

I was able to see people doing what I wanted to do and making a living doing it! I lusted over their life, dreaming of the day my house would be covered in cool art pieces and past projects.

I didn’t know exactly how I was going to be a creative for a career but at that point I knew I wanted to figure out how to make it happen!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I never really considered a creative career until I was in high school.

I wanted to pursue a fine art, but I was always hearing about the starving artist and I was on my own and didn’t have family to fall back on so instead of going with my heart and following painting and fine art, I went to school for graphic design. It felt like I was still honoring my heart swishes while finding a career that would not make me a starving artist.

I finished my degree started my career, and even now to this day, have a graphic design business. But the story I’m going to tell you is not about my graphic design business it is about when I finally decided to pursue my art.

Like I said before, I’ve always been creating painting and my fine art or put on the back shelf to nurture my graphic design career and take care of my children.

For years, it was just a hobby, something for me to do when I needed to ease my mind. Then in 2018, while dealing with depression I really started to pour my heart back into my art. I was still actively hustling for graphic design, business and doing well with it, but still my heart wanted to make art.

At this time, Art still kind of a back burner activity, but I was making it more conscious effort to create art, mostly because it was helping me deal with my depression, and heal my broken heart.

It wasn’t till 2020 when everyone was forced to slow down that I was able to put even more time and effort into my art. During this time I also nurtured relationships that I had created with other creatives and started to really put my art out there.

It wouldn’t be till 2021 when a colleague of mine gently nudged me to put on a solo show. I had more than enough work, but in the back of my mind, I wondered if people would even show up to my show.

The solo show, Enough, happened at a place called the loft in Oak Park, a neighborhood of Sacramento, California. An intimate space that I filled with art from the past few years. The space felt like my journal being shared with the world. Each piece coming from a time when I was dealing with so many emotions.

Needless to say, people showed up, people supported, and now I felt like I could call myself an artist. I have now put my graphic design business on the back burner as I nurture my artistic career.

Since that show I have had a solo show, Interlude, at the Atrium in Old Sacramento. As well as many showings in group exhibits in Sacramento, San Francisco and Chico. art up in public spaces like coffee shops and other local businesses. With pop up events all over Northern California. Last and certainly not least, I was featured in a local magazine and on a local show and in podcasts.

I have been a busy bee making art the main objective!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is I’m living out who I always wanted to be. The person I wanted to be when I was a little kid.

I talk often about little rie… The kid who would sit in their room and create Lego creations, draw all sorts of things, and just come up with all the weird shit that would pop up in my mind, or at least try to.

Here I am today… I do the same thing but now I share my weird with the rest of the world and provide a life for myself and my children.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Making sure that I live a life that would make Little Rie happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.riethomasdesign.com
• Instagram: @MRSriedesign
• Facebook: Facebook.com/rie.design
• Linkedin: @riedesign

Image Credits
Photographers: Marie Thomas, Elysse Moore, Nia Thomas