Mari Stauffer – Looking Closely

Posted on | June 22, 2009 | 3 Comments

The creative vision of bay-area artist Mari Stauffer is “to find in her art career a harmonious blend of environmentalism, science, nature and education.” In pursuing this vision, Mari is expressing the scientific, educational and artistic tendencies that are nestled snugly in her DNA.

GreenSky Born in 1975 in Malaysia, to a Swiss father and Iban (native of Borneo) mother, Mari’s exposure to science and art was immediate and omnipresent with a family tree chock full of geologist and artists. Raised to respect and appreciate the natural world, Mari finds happiness and peace in relying on nature as the subject for her paintings and drawings, including the more enigmatic realms of paranormal, quantum physics and astronomy.

How and when did you begin to realize your artistic tendencies?

I know it may sound like a cliche, but I really don’t remember there being one specific time that launched me into the visual arts. Ever since I can remember, I have always loved trying to visually reproduce the things I see around me, as well as things in my mind. I just don’t know of a time when I did not draw or paint. I give a lot of credit to my parents who unconditionally support me, and always encouraged me as a child by enrolling me in art classes and buying me art supplies.

Coming from a family of artists and scientists, it’s no wonder that the natural world plays a dominant theme in your creations. How does science and your exposure to it influence your outlook and approach?

BananaSlugs I feel very lucky to have grown up around both fields of art and science. Geology runs deep in my family-my grandfather (Swiss-father’s side) was a geologist with Shell, my uncle is currently, my father is a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and my sister is currently working on her PhD in geology. I was raised by both my parents to respect our planet and to realize just how fascinating and amazing nature is. I am really amazed every day by the complexity, beauty, and patterns we find on our planet and in the universe!

I also feel that the more one knows about science, especially the earth sciences, the more of an environmentalist and conservationist one becomes. My mother is from an indigenous tribe on the island of Borneo who, like indigenous peoples all over the planet, are constantly battling corporate/government deforestation and destruction of rainforests. I therefore hold these issues of conservation and this respect and fascination with the natural world very close to my heart. My favorite subjects for my art are definitely plants, animals, and natural landscapes (including space scapes).

Can you talk about your Endangered Spacies™ collection and how it came about?

Frog Environmental issues really have always been something I think about, and it all came to a head when I watched Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. I came to realize that indeed [the climate crisis] is critical, and I felt compelled to somehow weave it into my artwork (which had been mainly surreal, fantasy and representational until then) even more.

There is currently a lot of environmental art out there. While I completely respect the shock tactics some artists take in portraying horrific images of current or potential scenarios (a bloody & bludgeoned harp seal baby lying on an iceberg, for example), it is not my style. I imagined where (not very realistically of course) humans would then put all these species whose habitats were/are disappearing. If there’s no room for them on Earth, how about space?

PolarBears It’s not a suggestion of mine, but rather a sad commentary on how many species we are losing due to certain companies and groups of people being pretty shortsighted about their actions. If I get one person to think “huh-I didn’t realize polar bears were endangered” then I’ll be happy. I also, though, just really enjoy painting these creatures, and putting them in the environment of space. I wanted to do it in a whimsical style, therefore my cartoon-ish look to the planets, stars, and animals, and I hope it makes it more accessible to a wider audience. I feel best when my artwork is somewhat educational.

What is your ideal workspace and medium?

Ideally, I like to work in watercolors either in my bedroom or studio room on my drawing table, but one of my favorite ways to paint in this medium is outdoors with my subject(s) right in front of me! For acrylics, I love working on my easel in my studio, with all the blinds open, and lots of light. Usually, wherever I work, music in the background is playing, as it helps to inspire me greatly. Probably my favorite medium (which was my emphasis in college) is still watercolor, coupled with pen & ink. There can be a beautifully unpredictable element to it when you let the elements do their thing (water, gravity, wind). I am most comfortable with this medium.

BlueFlowerWithMoon Do you work from sketches or do you let the images emerge spontaneously on the canvas?

I very often work from sketches, especially if I’m working in watercolor. I get inspired at inopportune times, so a quick sketch is always a good idea…sometimes I end up liking the sketch better than the painting. With acrylics, it’s possible to paint over things, so sometimes I go straight to the canvas with this medium. It also depends on the style and subject of the painting.

There are a lot of micro-details in your paintings. Where does your appreciation of these details come from and how does it inform your work?

I have always loved using nature as a subject, and this is especially true with plants. I am fascinated to no end with patterns in nature. There are patterns on the microscopic level that are identical to ones on the enormous, cosmic level. I have always been enamored with looking closely at plants, and how much complexity and pattern and order can be found in just one leaf of a plant…sometimes, there’s even a whole tiny insect hanging out on the leaf not visible before! Beyond this fascination, I just have always loved to be really detailed in most of my work…it’s just comfortable for me. The few public murals I’ve painted (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I think proved to me that I am just most comfortable working in the small to medium size range when it comes to paintings.

BrownBirds Besides painting, what other forms does your creativity take?

Wow…that’s a good question! Well…my sister gave me a great digital camera a few years ago, and I started using it to take pictures (some super-close-up ones) of plants, landscapes, and sometimes animals to use as photo-reference for paintings. This turned into a thoroughly enjoyable hobby in itself for me!

Currently selling greeting cards of her work, as well as showing and selling paintings in the greater bay area, Mari continues to work on her art, with the ongoing vision of connecting her passions for science and art by illustrating children’s books, field guides, and educational materials.

For more information check out Mari’s Flickr page or get in touch with her at mari.stauffer@gmail.com

Comments

3 Responses to “Mari Stauffer – Looking Closely”

robert
June 26th, 2009 @ 12:29 PM

Nice article about Mari. Cool art!
Tom LG
March 7th, 2010 @ 9:30 AM

Very nice Mari, thanks for sharing.
Brandy
January 18th, 2011 @ 9:37 PM

Such an inspiring and enlightened interview…thank you! Awesome artwork. Gonna need to get me some of those greeting cards!!!

House of Cat

All things artful and curious

Mari Stauffer – Looking Closely

Comments

Categories

Recently Written

House of Cat RSS Feed

Links