We recently connected with Mary Rose Deraco and have shared our conversation below.
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 am Los Angeles based artist. My studio is a converted open air garage that sits on top of a hill overlooking the Los Angeles basin. I have a daily practice of doing meditation and intuitive art. My work tells the stories of my life that I have no words for. The work is symbolic, gestural, colorful, lyrical and painterly. I consider art making a spiritual experience and a therapeutic practice. I work on a large scale, throwing my body and soul into the work, moving up on ladders, lifting the work onto the floor, pouring and moving paint on huge surfaces with mixed media. Music is the back beat behind my gestural lines and shapes. Through my daily practice, I have developed a unique and accessible inner voice. My paintings communicate personal themes of transformation that connect with people in a mystical way that heals and nurtures the soul.
Mary Rose, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I worked on a series of paintings in solidarity with people struggling with gender inequalities, discrimination and abuse. The series was entitled “The Truth is My Name” and was a symbolic depiction of unraveling of subconscious memories sparked by the #Metoo movement and the Dobb’s decision. A pervasive culture of gender discrimination, the disenfranchising of women’s reproductive rights and decades of hidden societal patriarchal norms, have inspired survivors to speak out, tell their stories and fight for justice. Like many of the victims of these gender biased culture wars, the events of the last few years have revealed dark emotions that needed to come out. In a world filled with toxic discourse, I watched brave people come forward to tell their stories of survival and recovery. All this bravery and upheaval sparked the most inspiring time in my artistic life. Then out came the truth. “The Truth is My Name” is a series of paintings and drawings inspired by this collective fight for freedom. Making this series of drawings and paintings allowed me to ride on this invigorating wave of truth, heal my past, and share in the beauty of this collective transformation.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
“Emerging Undiminished” is a series of Los Angeles Landscapes created after the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. 2020 was brutal for all of us, the events we witnessed on the evening news were horrific and, to make things worse, on March 14th, I got a severe and life-threatening case of Covid-19. Thankfully, I recovered but afterward I was afraid to leave the house. The only connection I had to nature, my usual muse, were my house plants and the view from the bay window that looked out onto the street. If it weren’t for my youngest son, Diego wanting to learn to drive, I may have never gone outside again. I wanted to be there for him, but as soon as I stepped outside of the house, my heart started beating like a hummingbird trapped inside my chest. As I got into the passenger’s seat, Diego may have been excited, but my anxiety took off. Through persistent mindfulness meditation, I learned to redirect my attention to all five senses and plug it into the present moment. While I may have been afraid, the artist part of me was excited, as I was always on the lookout for new inspiration. I made a quick decision to pay close attention to the landscape of Los Angeles, to soothe my frazzled inner landscape. I opened the window and felt the warm rush of clean air whip my hair around like a windmill as I gazed at the diversely colored city of Los Angeles. The city was surreal, as though I was entering a whole new world. The usual hustle and bustle of freeway traffic and airplanes were hushed. It felt like we were driving through a ghost town. It was startling that in LA, there was silence. I took another breath; the usual gray, toxic air was crystal clear. The bright blue sky and its pearlescent clouds hung above the edgy urban landscape. Los Angeles became like an old friend, emerging from the dust to catch my life from what seemed like a never-ending fall. It had finally gone back to the place I had found my artist self.
In the 80s, you could get across town in twenty minutes. Over the last few decades, the traffic had slowed and thickened, no longer feeling like a “free way”. On this day, Diego and I enjoyed zipping through winding freeways free from the usual gridlock. When we came to each overpass, I took in the bright and colorful graffiti made by LA’s notorious street artists. I thought of the people who wanted to leave their mark, and I strangely related somehow. As we continued east, I was awestruck by the architecture of Chinatown and mid-century design of Dodgers Stadium.
When I got home, inspired by the newfound landscape of LA, I painted “Drive to East LA”. It was the first in a series of many “surreal” landscapes that emerged post-pandemic. My driving adventures continued, as the paintings became more vibrant, inventive, and fun. The Agoraphobia subsided and brightly colored stories and lyrical lines moved quickly and easily in contrast with lingering hues of black and grey. The work alludes to a dark time held within a vibrant and colorful city. It is hard to describe the City of Angels when it was empty and deserted. To quote one of my favorite artists, Georgia O’Keeffe, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”
This city has always inspired me with its wild ambition, decadent affluence, and creative diversity. Plugging fearlessly into unexpected changes in the outer landscape of Los Angeles, allowed a transformation of my inner landscape. As I gained resilience, this immersive and observational practice woke me up to a wiser “sage self,” the part of me that is not afraid to lean into the silence during times of upheaval and look for inspiration in the sacredness of nature. Together, one drive at a time, we emerge undiminished.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, to bear witness to those I may help by showing them the joy and freedom of living a life as a creative. To encourage those who are holding back on expressing their true selves because they have a shy inner critic. I too have that discouraging voice. I lost my artistic voice for many years in my 20s trying to be something I wasn’t to fit in. I was under the impression that making art was only for the chosen few that were masters. It was an unsettling time. A part of me had died and I felt angry and empty. It took overcoming some really tough hurdles to nurture and develop my artistic side and to experience the freedom of creating again. That creative source is in all of us. I never want to lose it. I promised myself I would never abandon my artist self again. Doing art for me is self care. This is why I start each day with some meditation, journaling, drawing or painting. My goal is to do what I love and to inspire others to do the same by sharing the joy of art!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maryrosederaco.com/
- Instagram: Maryrosederaco
- Facebook: Maryrosederaco
Image Credits
Elizabeth Kelley