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Maricel Ruiz Chávez was born on Oct. 23, 1968 in the town of Zorrilla in the province of Matanzas, Cuba. Mari worked for 15 years at Ediciones Vigia, a very unique and famous publishing house for handmade art books in Matanzas. She says, “Before I started working there, I had no background in art. My job was to bind the handcrafted books. That place woke up my creativity!”
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She began creating art out of the hardships of her life. Her husband was an alcoholic and Mari in her despair saw all the bottles lined up on the floor, and began to cover them with string and paint. Thus was born her passion for transforming the elements of her life into powerful art.
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As a single mom, she raised two sons. Her older son is now an artist in Cuba. In 2018 Mari came to live in Atlanta with her younger son Jose, and re-connected with friends from Matanzas, who connected her with a community of artists and musicians. Mari uses whatever she sees around her to create her paintings. It is not unusual to find textures made of egg shells, ashes, cardboard, flower petals, and string in her paintings. In addition to traditional paints, Mari also spreads her canvases with coffee, wine, and glue.
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Mari says, “I follow my instincts and my intuition when creating my art. I never know where the elements are going to take me. A piece of string with some glue might lead me to a faceless wandering woman.”
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“I can’t explain why I paint. I paint to feel free. I do my best painting when I feel anguish or despair. I get carried away by a force that I cannot put into words. Sometimes when I’m happy I want to find this same inspiration, but it doesn’t come. I have no control over my creativity. It is a force of nature that comes and goes in me.”
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In Cuba, Maricel has exhibited at La Galeria de Arte José Gonzalez de Colón, “the Guerrera del Monte Alto”, and the ACAA (Associacion Cubana de Artesanos Artistas de Matanzas). This is her first exhibit in the US. Cuban art critic Derbys Dominguez said about Maricel,’s paintings “If every object could talk, it would find a language of a rebellious and defiant woman, restless with a need of expressing herself through art.”
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Pssst.... Coming soon...
ALL SINGING: The Elise Witt Songbook
58 original songs
with lyrics, chords, sheet music, pictures, and stories
Stay tuned!!
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Elise's Upcoming Schedule
April 13 ~ Atlanta GA
April 15 - May 20 ~ Atlanta GA
April 19 ~ Atlanta GA
April 23 ~ Avondale Estates GA
April 27 ~ Pine Lake GA
April 28 ~ Atlanta GA
May 18 ~ Clarkston GA
June 6 ~ Perugia ITALY
June 8-9 ~ Verbania ITALY
June 15 ~ Cessole (Asti) ITALY
June 23-29 ~ Brasstown NC
July 7 ~ Atlanta GA
July 27 ~ Decatur GA
Aug. 6 - 11 ~ Arden NC
Aug. 9 - 11 ~ Swannanoa NC
Sept. 6-15 ~ New England Tour
Sept. 7-8 ~ Lexington MA
Sept. 8 ~ Somerville MA
Sept. 14 ~ Goshen MA
Sept. 15 ~ Brattleboro VT
Oct. 18 ~ Atlanta GA
Nov. 15-17 ~ Pt. Richmond, San Francisco, Point Reyes CA
Dec. 15 ~ Pine Lake GA
2020
Feb. 9 ~ Brasstown NC
Feb. 29 - Mar. 8 ~ Hakalau HI
March ~ Atlanta GA
Aug. 4-9 ~ Arden NC
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