Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcie Scudder.

Hi Marcie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

When asked to share my story, I sometimes find it hard to know where to begin. So – I’ll begin with my return to art school to pursue an MFA at the tender young age of 60.

It was about fulfilling a longtime dream. When entering college (at the much younger age of 17), I had wanted to major in studio art. But being the practical man that was my father, I was encouraged to pursue architecture instead. He believed, and somewhat rightfully so, that I’d be much better equipped to support myself as an Architect than as a ‘starving artist’.

And so it was. I graduated and became my own solo-firm, practicing architecture for 25+ years; specializing in smaller-scale residential work; re-imagining dreams and sculpting space. Until one day – I’d had enough, and promised myself I’d never ever again draw another straight line. My creative life and path would include many roundabouts and curves, with no clearly designated direction.

Having always had a passion for photography – I picked up my camera anew and began what I then called a daily discipline and practice of capturing the world thru my camera’s lens. Every morning I rose before sunrise, grabbed my camera and set out for a walk. It was always about the journey and not the destination.

In 2014 – my mother died suddenly and unexpectedly. I was left with her house, her artist’ studio and her garden. I photographed that garden in all its ages and stages – from first of spring’s buds to the last of autumn’s remains. Her garden – that she planted – became my physical, spiritual and metaphorical muse. Every spring, and no matter how long or harsh the winter – it returned and re-bloomed again. It was a constant reminder of nature’s will and power and strength to carry on.

In the fall of 2021 – I took that giant leap of faith and began my adventures into art school and engaged in a three-year conversation with my work and my self. I needed to seek out and understand my reason for making and creating. I needed to understand my own personal ‘why’.

Then and there – I began exploring all facets of who I am. I’d made myself a promise of never drawing another straight line, but within me was still a desire to somehow shape space. Straight photography, printed on a two-dimensional surface somehow left me feeling flat. I was searching for something other.

With that photograph as my base – I started experimenting with three-dimensional artist bookmaking and origami. I played with possibility – cutting, folding and sewing paper together into what became abstract three-dimensional sculptures that occupied and shaped space. These sculptures allowed viewers full-body proprioceptive experiences. The first – I titled appropriately: ‘My Mothers Garden’, as it was made up of photographs of the summer flowers. The second – I titled: ‘Mon Hiver’, as it was mde up of photographs of the winter garden buried in snow.

And yet – there was more. More to say. More to share. More to explore.
Coquelicots and then Shvesters followed that.

I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. My mother and her two sisters were born – Jews = in the 1930’s pre-war Germany. They survived due to the kindness of strangers and some small miracle of fate. Because of their grit, determination and luck – I am. I needed to embrace that as a part of my story too.

At 12′ tall – Coquelicots stands as a reminder to honor and remember, and to never forget. ‘She’ is created out of thousands of parts of pieces of cut, folded, sewn and re-imagined poppies. I chose poppies from the garden as a symbol of remembrance. I chose red as the color of blood and the color of love. Her sweeping folds are meant to embrace – to shield and keep us safe, To protect us.

Shvesters tells the story of my mother and her two sisters. These are three paper sculptures – Ruti, Ava and Raisel – each with their own unique history and personality. Although their stories are tied to a much larger one, they were real people. They lived. They loved. They laughed. They married and had children. And we children are here now to tell those stories…to never forget….to carry on.

Although it is something I once resisted, I now welcome it as an imperative call to honor and remember, to share stories, to live and to love. In the midst of life’s uncertainties, I seek beauty. I explore the mystery of abstraction and joy of play. I embrace the unseen opportunities in the re-imagining and re-shaping what I capture through my camera’s lens.

Following the Oct. 7th massacre in Israel, when more Jews were killed in a single day since the Holocaust – ‘We Will Dance Again’ was born. It was my way of sitting with the horror, the grief, the disbelief that this could happen again.

Again – with photographs of the flower in my mothers’ garden – the sculpture is made up of 364 origami paper dresses. 364 innocent young lives were lost at the Nova Festival. They were love children, peaceniks. They had their whole lives ahead of them, waiting to be lived. This is in homage and remembrance to them.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

My greatest obstacles are: Me. Myself. I.

I am in constant conversation and battle with myself to find the confidence to push to get my work out into the world. I’m finding it hard to find the just right venues, and those who might be interested in the story behind the work as much as the work itself.

I love the process of making the work. Self-promotion isn’t something that comes easily.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I am a lens-based multi-disciplinary artist. My work explores the connections between the human experience and the ephemeral circles and cycles of nature’s seasons. I examine the dualities between fragility and loss; rebirth and renewal. My art is about the conversations between generations. It’s about honoring and remembering – how one remembers, what one remembers, and who.

My work is about gratitude and joy. It’s about what it means to be alive. and to experience with all five sense.

I received an MFA in Visual Arts from Maine Media College in 2023, and a B.Arch. in Architecture from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in 1981. My work has been exhibited in various spaces including The Wilson Museum at Southern Vermont Arts Center; The Kent Museum: Studio Place Arts; SE Center for Photography; and Davis-Orton Gallery. Her work has appeared in numerous publications such as Lenscratch, Still Points Quarterly, NE Home Magazine, Stowe Magazine and Catchlight.

After almost 3 decades of managing my own Architectural practice, I turned to photography as a means of creative expression. My most recent work marries the two practices together by transforming her photographs into 3-dimensional objects that sculpt and shape space.

I now live and work in Stowe, VT. Winter is long. Summer is fleeting. Time is measured by the changing length of the days.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?

One of my favorite childhood memories is about skiing here in these mountains; freshly fallen snow, crisp cold winter days – me and my father together.

Other memories include exploring my mother’s closet filled with her scent and colorful haute-couture clothes. Going to the ballet with my grandmother. Summers spent on the most pristine and beautiful lakes of northern Ontario.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marciescudder.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciescudder/

Image Credits

My Mother’s Garden. Mon Hiver. Coquelicots – credit: Marcie Scudder Photography
Ava. Raisel. Ruti. We Will Dance Again – credit: Paul Rogers Photography