Photo by Saschko Bach
In her works, she lets emotions and her inner life shine on the canvas. Marleen is a true heart person and it is her special concern to help others to discover their own creativity and healing power in the creation process.
During our subcultalk with her, Marleen talks about her desire to always try new things and how art allows her to do that. She also talks about how she has found a way to deal with her sad moments and tells us what makes her feel most fulfilled and alive in her life.
Have a read below!
Photo by Saschko Bach
1. What's the art you're doing?
I am an actress through and through, but I am also at home in abstract and modern painting. There, the canvas is my stage and I can tell stories - only without words and with colors.
Mixed media work has also really appealed to me lately. There, I process old fabrics that I upcycle and turn into a kind of picture sculpture.
Colors and shapes inspire me. I like that art has no borders and I implement this in such a way that I don't limit myself to one style. If something fascinates and moves me, I have to implement it in the way I feel and perceive it in this moment.
Photo by Saschko Bach
2. What's your favorite thing to do?
Baking a cake that I'll later take to a meetup with all my friends.
The anticipation of the community, the smell that permeates my entire apartment and the process itself, which is so meditative for me, just makes me happy.
3. What's your favorite word?
Petrichor - it describes the scent of summer rain on the street.
A smell that reminds me of lightheartedness, summer and the fulfillment of longing.
Photo by Saschko Bach
4. What's the best wake-up time for you?
Anywhere between 6:00-7:30am.
Then, no one I know is awake. It's still quiet outside. The notifications on my phone are silent. I have the time for myself and my morning routine, undisturbed by all the news and information turmoil that hits me later. I also get most of my "to do's" sorted out at that time.
5. What are you most afraid of?
Floating alone in space. Although that's really very unlikely.
Otherwise, it's losing the people I love. Sounds very trite but for me good relationships make my life. Maybe that's the most important thing for me. I have wonderful and loving people around me who alone make up part of my sense of meaning in this life. And I never want to be without them.
Not being able to live up to my potential or not being seen with what I can do and thus staying below my potential is another fear I have to deal with again and again.
Photo by Saschko Bach
6. What's the feeling you like the least?
I hate feeling powerless or defenseless.
Also, the feeling of being ashamed for people who argue in front of me. I'm a little mood barometer and often feel feelings that don't really belong to me and that I shouldn't have to sympathize with.
7. What makes you feel most alive?
Laughter and dance. Sometimes, when the music is good, both at the same time.
Movement is life.
I love to laugh loud and a lot. In my circle of friends, people always talk loudly, laugh and dance a lot. No matter where we are. I love that. It reminds me of my second homeland Israel. Especially Tel Aviv. There, you're not paying attention for a second and you're standing in a circle of clapping and singing people who are just bursting with "joie de vivre".
Photo by Saschko Bach
8. What inspires you most?
On a private level, people inspire me most. Authentic encounters at eye level.
People who know and reflect on each other. Who tell stories from which they have learned and gained insights. I love conversations. This is my love language. There is so much healing potential in there.
As an artist, it is nature in its form and blaze of color. Since you can never completely separate the artist from the private person, it is probably both.
9. What do you do when you feel sad?
Now, I allow myself to feel that, too.
I used to always try to distract myself from the sadness and immediately list 10 things I was grateful for. But since this behavior is part of a toxic positivist, I'm now trying to deal with my sadness differently.
Accepting myself in my sadness, giving myself comfort by crying everything out, eating a donut and then watching "new girl" works well for me right now. All feelings are ok. I feel them. I'm not them. They come and they go.
Everything is always just a phase. This understanding helped me a lot.
Photo by Saschko Bach
10. Your favorite guilty pleasure?
Donuts!! And a song by a British male band, but it's really so guilty that I can't share it. ;)
Thanks for your time for this subcultalk dear Marleen!
Photo by Saschko Bach
We hope you liked our subcultalk with visual artist and actress Marleen Maxeiner. To meet Marleen in person and get creative yourself, book your spot at one of her "Paint Your Soul" - Intuitive Painting Workshops here.
Until next time!
Your Kat