We were lucky to catch up with Mary Thiefels recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
TreeTown Murals is a Michigan mural company specializing in custom projects in collaboration with organizations, municipalities, companies and private citizens. Bringing unique & successful murals to locations for all people to enjoy and discover is one of the greatest joys a muralist can have. Especially when it’s in the place where you live and call home! When artists are supported and celebrated within their own community it is very validating. TTM has brought many murals to the southeastern Michigan area where we live.
In 2019 TTM was invited to design and paint our largest most prominent mural to date in downtown Ann Arbor. The location for the mural was chosen because of its scale and visibility. The design represents the city and all it offers. It remains the largest mural in the city and is seen by 100’s of thousands of residents and visitors weekly. So without knowing much about Ann Arbor, one can gaze upon the vastness of the mural and get the vibe & essence of the city along with hints of it’s values and culture. In this way our mural has become very meaningful to the city and all it’s fans.
Since then TTM has been invited to paint more murals for the city of Ann Arbor. We must be doing something right!
…pictures attached.
Mary, 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?
TTM is run in partnership by husband and wife team, Danijel Matanic and Mary Thiefels. Thiefels started the company in 2007 when she started painting murals publicly for the first time. After meeting artist, Danijel Matanic they quickly joined forces both in love and in collaboration in the TTM mural company. They continue to grow the company together to this day. Each project brings a new partnerships and challenges. The murals are custom designed to meet the visual interests of the partners – whether its a municipality, private corporation or non profit organization. Many of the projects involve community participation. This feature sets them a part from other mural companies because it directly involves the members of these unique communities in the design and sometimes painting of the mural. This collaboration transfers ownership of the project to the participants and community members giving them an overwhelming sense of pride.
We are a for profit company and live off of our earning’s – we are not starving! in fact we are thriving! We love what we do and feel grateful for our talents and how they contribute to the betterment of society. We consider ourselves creative conduits to all people that have ideas and want to partner with the vision that only artists can provide.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Artist and creatives as a whole are just people like yourself – the only difference is that they have “leaned in” to their art as a means to express themselves both in life and livelihood. They have pushed through all the self doubt and negative stereotypes often associated with following your dreams. I believe we are all creative problem solvers and have something unique to express to the world whether we make a living from it or not. We need to support artists on their courageous journeys. They bring so much to the world!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
We get to make our own schedule! Travel and vacations included. We work hard as hell but are able to take breaks when needed. Our life is our own, we are our own bosses!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.treetownmurals.com / www.danijelmatanic.com
- Instagram: @treetownmurals @danijelmatanic @rareshorebird
- Facebook: treetown murals
- Youtube: treetown murals
Image Credits
Doug Coombe @doug_coombe