Page 7 - The Clare Connection_Fall 2018 Flipbook

FALL 2018 7

“I never allowed anybody to criticize anyone else’s work,”
she says. “Your art should reflect you.”
Marcia also owned her own business for 8 years, a store
called Craft Connections located at the corner of Fullerton
Parkway and Clark Street in Lincoln Park. Here, she sold
completed crafts that she curated from around the country.
Otherwise, Marcia focused on art of her own. Over the
years, she took classes at the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, the American Academy of Art and the Evanston
Art Center, among others. She learned to draw, sculpt, paint
and more.
“I find that the more I do, the better I get,” Marcia says.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’m more apt to experiment and take
chances.”
Her inspiration for experimentation stems from various
sources. She spent quite a bit of time exploring museums
across Europe, along with many in Chicago. More recently,
magazines and everyday objects serve as her muses.
“Sometimes I tear pages out of magazines or somebody
will give me a calendar, and I interpret them differently

Ghosts

on canvas,” she says. “You can take something, use it as a
source and change it completely to suit yourself.”
Which is exactly what Marcia did with two of her most
popular works. She used acrylic paint to create a rendition
of Whoopi Goldberg based on a photo she really enjoyed.
Meanwhile, pastels were the medium for her piece titled
“Abba Dabba,” modeled after a photo found in National
Geographic.
And with several class offerings in The Studio at The Clare,
Marcia has the opportunity to continue trying out different
styles and mediums.
“The thing with art is, there’s always more to learn,” she
says.
Whisk Away