Art & Life with Micah Mariah

Today we’d like to introduce you to Micah Mariah.

Micah, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a current college student pursuing studies in art. I initially grew up in the Coachella Valley, where I eventually migrated to the San Diego area. I was fortunate enough to start experimenting with art at an early age due to both of my parents’ creative traits. Being both German and Filipino certainly created a duality of cultural worlds. Analytical engineers on one end, while being the first generational college student on the other side allowed me to gauge the world with a vast perspective. Growing up, my mother worked hard to both raise and financially support me the best she could. Never did she discourage me to continue art, but there were times I recognized the generalization towards “starving artists” and the mental burdens along with social pressures, a creative mind tends to stumble across through life. Although, entertaining the idea of alternative routes only managed to gravitate me towards discovering that art making will always be embedded in me. As a coping mechanism and as a way to understanding the world around me. The artistic mentors along the way such as Lucy McHugh, Allison Mason, and Dana Swanson Patel inspired me in retaining my journey in arts with exposure, support, and experimentation in the realm. To this day, I purposefully strive towards continuing my artistic exploration.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I find beauty in the process rather than the outcome of art. My ideology towards life somehow manages to stem from my development within art. This notion that process and pushing boundaries out of comfort zones can only lead to further cultivation is something that drives my determination in both art and life. Like most artists, art is a way for me to cope with the obstacles and surroundings of my past, and it allows me to analyze and anticipate the present and future states to come. A need for an artistic voice or stylistic touch in my work was a personal fixation for a while until I considered that self-realization through the art-making process is the strongest form of insight an artist can obtain. For me, this surfaces through deliberate brush strokes, compositional consideration, pushing around colors until visuals and concepts form. Context has become equally, if not more important in my body of work, and I believe dissection and reflection are substantial components for growth. The main thing that I hope people can take away from my art is some form of thought-provoking experience. That can eventually be cultivated through becoming artistically inspired or more introspective in some way, shape, or form.

Cliché as it is, life is too short to fixate on the negativity and retract the traits that resonate with you. Discovering ways to make the world a better place on both a smaller and larger scale is just one further step, though essentially acknowledging our temporary residency on earth allows me to perceive art and life with a less serious approach without devaluing my passion towards fulfillment.

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I believe there are both advantages and disadvantages for the artist of today. With more accessibility and ability to personalized professional platforms, there’s also a dying era of traditional forms of art making that I feel is a necessity towards fully understanding the art realm. Not only is media continuing to deplete our attention span as a generation, but it creates a superficial need to finish tasks quicker without fully comprehending the skillset and the process of it. I think what traditional forms of art teach people are the quality of sitting down, allowing our bodies to access a catharsis moment. This is also why I believe that being immersed in nature is a great pairing for artistry. Personally, I am constantly in awe with the color coordination and the raw composition that unfolds in nature. I find that I acquire a similar reflective sensation in nature as I do in art when I’m able to break away from the constant demands and comparative competitions social media tends to allude. On the contrary, the ability to literally carry a personalized computer in your pockets wherever you go is a tool that was once unimaginable. With that, I think it is important to connect, and exchange ideas and thoughts and above all, obliterate discouragement. Visionary work often goes against the grain of societal expectations and redundancies, so forming more open and accepting communities creates the potential for improvements and encouragement.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
To say informed with upcoming projects and pieces, I implore people to check out my website (micahmariah.com) for more elaborate content and my Instagram (micah_mariah) for quick aesthetic updates on upcoming work. I pride myself in staying true to the art I create while also allowing myself be detached to it for growth purposes, so most of my original pieces are available for purchase along with prints at a more accommodating price. Commissions are a common request, whether that be a specific vision from the buyer or a vague idea that I try to help guide towards full depicted completion. At most, people can support my work by using it to get inspired to percolate ideas in hopes of making the world a more visionary place.

Contact Info:

• Address: San Diego and Coachella Valley area
• Website: https://micahmariah.com/
• Email: micahmariah137@gmail.com
• Instagram: micah_mariah
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/micahmariahh/

Image Credit:
The personal image of myself is taken by Keith Carapella – https://www.keithcarapella.com/.
The photos of artwork are taken by me, Micah Mariah

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