We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marisa DeLuca. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marisa below.
Hi Marisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In 2017 I was developing a body of work called “Questa non e una mela”. This was a personal reflection on femininity and the associated internal and external oppression of womanhood. But while working on this project, my attention was drawn to the silent beauty of my neighborhood in Oceanside, CA – Crown Heights. A working class immigrant community, I felt grateful to have kind neighbors who understood and shared in my life struggles. I continued the Questa work but began taking pictures of things that were tender and sweet about this area. A rogue bush of Hollyhocks growing in my apartment driveway was the catalyst for a new body of work, “Or no Side”.
I continued snapping photos and doing small watercolor studies of spaces I loved in Oceanside. Not your usual pier/mission/Cassidy Street Bridge spaces, but the commonplace, easily forgotten ones. Around 2019, I began to transition from watercolor to oil paint. This transition period also caused me to reflect on the changes happening in my neighborhood. Investors came in, evicting my neighbors and eventually my own family. The pandemic put the development train into overdrive, and as we all emerged from our lockdowns Downtown Oceanside was unrecognizable. The bittersweet sadness I felt began to manifest itself in my paintings. The economic challenges I faced as a low-income single mother of three connected me to my neighbors, also burdened by the weight of constant rent increases and the threat of displacement. I felt an urgency to preserve a quickly disappearing history.
Marisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a post-contemporary artist working in painting, drawing, and photography. My practice examines time, memory, impermanence, and critical theory. I come from a background of community engagement through nonprofit service in the arts sector. In 2020 I founded the nonprofit Artists in Solidarity, an artist collective that raises funds for migrant families through charity art auctions where I currently serve as President. I am a San Diego native based in Oceanside, California and I received my BA in Visual Arts (Studio) from UC San Diego in 2021. I am currently pursuing my MFA at San Diego State University’s School of Art + Design. My paintings and drawings are for sale on my website, and I have an upcoming solo exhibition of my recent body of work at the Oceanside Public Library from April 2023 to June 2023.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
As a lifelong artist and creative, I heard two messages growing up: 1) “you’re so creative!” and, 2) “art is not a real job”. Here’s the secret: we’re all creative. Human beings have an innate desire to create. The term “creativity” has been sectioned off into a very specific set of skills that doesn’t quite fit what being creative means. Some, like me, create visual art. Some, like an engineer, create a framework for stability. If you can’t draw or make bracelets it doesn’t mean you’re not creative. If you create something, anything, you are a creative. So imagine growing up being told you’re really good at something that will never materialize into a career. It’s deflating. As far as art not being a “real job” – tell that to my bank account. Artists and the arts economy generate millions of dollars in the California region alone. I’ve been able to support my family with the help of art and art adjacent jobs since 2019. I would have had an arts career sooner if I hadn’t been told over and over by well-meaning friends and family that it wasn’t possible. Once I got into art school and I was exposed to the wealth of arts careers available, my mind opened and doors opened for me. The fact is this: whatever you’re creative at, this is a gift only you have in your own special way. There is a company or a person out there who needs that very specialized skill and will pay you for it. Keep pushing at what you love to do and it will materialize.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
One book that has significantly impacted my arts career is Art/Work by Bhandari and Melber. Not your casual weekend read, this book works more like a reference guide. Need to know how to price your art? Write a loan document? Market yourself on social media? Check the index and get the answers. My go-to guide for all things art industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marisadeluca.com/
- Instagram: marisadelucastudio
Image Credits
Portrait credit: Rafa Rios, 2023