We recently connected with Matti Baine and have shared our conversation below.
Matti, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Artistically speaking, I was always recognized for having a gift to create… always drawing and even recognition for my handwriting skill. As long as I can remember my Mother would always have pencil and paper on the ready for me… constantly drawing and sketching. Art courses in college while working at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts helped me find a path. A path that eventually took me out of suburban America and deep into a culturally rich world of art. I don’t think it was ever a choice for me. I have lived and breathed art as long as I can remember.
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 have always been creative and artistically inclined, I painted my first oil painting with my Great-Grandmother at 9 years of age. Having the good fortune of growing up in an artistic environment surrounded by family encouragement, it is second nature for me. Along with visual arts I also found myself drawn to the stage. Embracing both artistic disciplines, I studied Visual and Perforance Arts at Scottsdale Community College. Working at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts surrounded by so many art exhibits and live performances in the theaters during my college days, my passion was fueled even more. When they sponsored the non-profit, Circus Arts Foundation to perform in their beautiful, French Big Top in Scottsdale, I was in awe of the giant tent and the European base of performers that made up Circus Flora. Enthralled but also realizing if I stepped foot in that red and white striped tent, my life would never be the same. I avoided it that first year but could not resist when they returned the following year to bring the culturally rich European art form. Meeting and bonding with some of the cast and crew, they offered me a position. I felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime as I would be an actress and scenic & prop designer in this single ring European style show which was managed by an Ivy League Team. This blended my two interests brilliantly. When my grandparents offered me their motorcoach, everything fell into place. I dropped out of college and ran away with the Circus. Traveling the country with the International cast of Circus Flora to places such as Nantucket, Charleston and my hometown, Scottsdale, among others, exposed this Arizona girl to a worldly depth of creativity which opened my eyes to the many facets in which the world works… from truck drivers to Ivy League Scholars, I learned a great deal from it all… even learning aerial arts on the trapeze and Lyra, (aerial hoop). Adding so much depth and substance to the subjects I paint. It often felt like I was living in a Fellini Film. There is an art form that is rare and in danger of extinction. A certain something that is captured by some and un-noticed by others. It touches something deep inside the human soul. In one moment it is perceived as sadness and the next as joy… It is a certain something I try to capture in my paintings. Circus Flora embodied it and I cherish being exposed to it and recognizing it. The Production Values of this live show were quite high as well. I was performing for 1500 people twice a day for 13 years, maintaining those high production values with the team. All of this helped me developed an ease and confidence which I bring to the events that I continue to work in today. Mostly Corporate Events, meetings, experientials, stunts and specialty performances. I then fill my schedule as Deck Manager and Assistant Stage Manager for Corporate Presentations. I bring reassurance and support to the clients that I work with to help them present their very best while on stage. Communicating well with the team we create the environment to execute and drive the vision of our clients message seamlessly.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is the freedom. I have tried to fit in at a 9 to 5 job and after just 4 months, I was having panic attacks. I don’t have a choice and I feel eternally grateful for the creative opportunities I have had throughout my life. Traveling with the very special team of creatives that made up Circus Flora, The studies with Italian Designer Paolo Soleri of Arcosanti and Cosanti, a creative architectural experiment in the deserts of Arizona. Also, stumbling into work aboard a private yacht that set sail for the Bahamas. Ever willing and open to unique experiences, I found myself rigging rock & roll concerts on the East Coast of the US from New York down to Virginia with some of the best professional riggers there are. Eventually back in Arizona with Roadrunner Staging when the head rigger brought me up into the ceilings of the concert pavilion to hang grids for the summer concert series. From there, I found my way into Corporate Events where my life became a little cushier. Still evolving around the art worlds I became immersed in Downtown Phoenix Culture of Musicians, Painters, Tattoo Artists, sculptors and performers. Through my expanding network of creatives, I found myself at Burningman with the teams of the Metal Shop assisting the lead welder, an amazing and creative woman. As we moved on site I joined the team that did the Rigging of Center Camp. Always finding my way back to Arizona I connected with an artist who had just relocated to Phoenix from Brussels. We had a fun 3 years of creating unique visual and performing arts together at The Red Door on Grand Avenue. Some say it was the pinnacle of culture in the area. Before closing the doors, she invited me to join her on a trip to Brussels where we spent weeks sipping port, looking at art, speaking French… me, learning a little French. Having been armed with a little knowledge of how to get around Europe, I quickly found my way back for the “Balloon Party” in Amsterdam before exploring a new opportunity to participate in the developement of a Yoga and Art Retreat in the mountains of Valencia, Spain… I was quite sure I would find the romanticized version of Gypsies that was represented at Circus Flora. That never happened but I did discover the pigment that I paint with today. A Bulgarian Art Professor approached me with it as I was painting with sepia toned watercolors… very similar but the walnut pigment was used by the old masters such as, Michealangelo, DaVinci and many Ancient Maps which I have been inspired to paint as well. These maps I am painting also assist in my new passion of learning to sail with my partner in such places as Lake Pleasant in Arizona, Park City, UT and all the way to the Mediterranean. The creative freedom which is at my very core has afforded me the ability to seize opportunities of grand adventures. I could go on and on with stories and I am forever grateful for each and every one of them.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I have pivoted so many times in life… one after another. I had to pivot out of rigging when I wound up with nerve damage in my hands from hauling heavy loads up into the ceiling grids for concerts. Another pivot when my business, The Escape Gallery, was struggling for customers as well as challenging dynamics with my Partner. The Escape Gallery was an Escape Game with an Art Gallery in the lobby area. I designed it and built it all with some help from my partner. We received great reviews but were not getting the volume of customers needed for success. I started to think creatively. The spaces were unique and attractive within the Escape Game as well as the Gallery/Lobby. I tried to book it for parties or meetings… even tried to book life drawing courses. The challenging dynamics with my partner worsened the situation. Digging deeply, I worked hard hoping to find a functional path for us. Eventually defeated, it ended with irreconcilable dynamics. Which meant closing the doors of the Escape Gallery. I cut my losses and escaped to the mountains at my families little homestead in the woods. All of this happening just as the Pandemic hit. I sat in awe as the world shut down. All my work, traveling for corporate events, that I was lining up to rebuild my life canceled… one by one all the jobs disappeared. All I had left was the property and a couple friends who had bought property nearby. I built a garden and even found some odd jobs here and there in the community. Sanding decks and painting houses as well as some commissioned paintings. I was just barely getting by when the propane tanks became empty in the dead of winter and the propane company did not have any drivers to refill my tanks. It was not only my heating source but cooking as well. My neighbor and friend helped me rebuild an old wood cook stove in the kitchen and I got by with that until the propane company came around again. The pandemic seemed like one struggle after another. My dear friend, a front line worker, used my place as a respite from the pandemic bringing lots of food which helped. Even now I am pivoting to reignite my contacts in both Corporate Events and the Phoenix Artist Circles. I am currently moving from the family homestead back to Phoenix. Just having my first art show in a new studio space on Roosevelt Row, it was a great start and I am excited for the future of my Art Career and Live Events. I will be flying to Detroit for a week to continue my work as a Deck Manager & Assistant Stage Manager at a trade show. And continue to open my Phoenix studio for art walks and by appointment. The artistic culture of Phoenix has shifted over the years and the gentrification that has happened is always a challenge in any expanding city. It seems that Phoenix has open arms for creatives and I look forward to rediscovering the creative niches and contributing what I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mattibaine.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattibaine?igsh=MW04NDA5dmZ5ZHlxaQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B6brMd8ou/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matti-baine-b75a489?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/_Ol8ccfKwos?si=uI1Ha1qNMcNFhWn-
Image Credits
J Paul Canada, Danika Bailey and Kirby Soderberg