An Inspired Chat with Marianne Sade of Eastern Shore, Maryland

We recently had the chance to connect with Marianne Sade and have shared our conversation below.

Marianne, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. When was the last time you felt true joy?
Driving my MINI Cooper this past summer across the Mackinaw Bridge (Michigan) with 1001 other mini coopers for “MINI on the Mack” which raised $10,000 for cancer and Parkinson’s Disease research! Here’s why: It was a gorgeous view, fun to participate with so many cool and colorful cars, meeting enthusiastic people, and knowing we were helping an important cause. We made our trek (over 2,000 miles) from our east coast home to the Upper Peninsula into an inspiring road trip through Canada (Toronto) and back home delighting in great vistas and art along the way.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
As your readers may recall from my last chat with you, I am a collage artist making often-quirky collages by cutting magazine paper as my source material. I like to juxtapose nature with humorous situations within our industrial world. I imagine that very clever, sociable crows would find themselves in really cool bars (“CrowBars”) after hours. Also, I used this medium and technique to create two colorful board books for children ages 0-4. I shared “TAPUM!” with you last time and I’m happy to share that its companion book, “TA DA!” came out in the spring! Both feature animals connecting through music and nature. These perfect lap time books for an early childhood audience and their caregivers, are available through my website (msadeart.com).
Currently I spend lots of time with my husband getting these gems into little hands. We sell them, along with some print versions of my images, at a weekly local artisan market. I appear at author events, and teach collage workshops as well. Business is blossoming. Of course, in between I’m working on new art; playing with using collage with printmaking ideas. Maybe a third book??? Maybe it’s time to find a book agent???

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I have a photo my dad took of me as a nine-year-old in front of a big shrub at our home. She wears a blue and white top loaded with hearts (even though it’s a black and white image I vividly recall the colors) and most importantly she wears a confident and pleasant smile. It’s my favorite head shot. I didn’t realize the word “powerful” at the time but upon reflection am certain that she was holding the essence of her might, inside. I keep this photo on my studio desk to remind me of her sweet strength.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Remember your nine-year old self!! Before life got so complex, when you were uninhibited hanging out in a tree with a good book in the summer. Confident before you knew what that even meant. You were true to yourself. Remember…

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Preschool literacy and the critical importance of sharing printed books with our youngest children. This is something I’ve been passionate about ever since I was a professional children’s librarian for many years. It’s the reason I chose to make and sell “baby” books and encourage people to read with their infants who will not only be prepped for reading independently in school but who will likely develop life-long reading appreciation themselves. I believe strongly that it’s a gift and a responsibility to share this activity with young children. It’s rewarding and cozy and enjoyable in many ways for the reader and the child. I can’t believe it’s the same experience with handing a tablet or phone with an app to a child. I have a sign on my sales table that says, “There’s no app to replace your lap!” People send me videos of their preschoolers enjoying “reading” my books, turning the pages themselves, making or trying to make the sounds of the words when don’t know how to read yet. It’s heartwarming!

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I was true to myself, my values and helped to bring laughter, love and the power of our connections to each other into the world through my artistic expression.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
headshot by Chris Sade all other images ©msadeart

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