In the Studio: With Marissa Tawney Thaler
Welcome to our new blog series, In the Studio. This series reflects our commitment to highlighting and incorporating more local art in our branches and communications and marketing efforts. Follow along for behind-the-scenes looks at original artwork and installations waiting for you to experience in CADL branches and original artwork and design from our in-house Marketing and Communications team.
Celebration & Stories Through Art
Interview conducted by Cassidy Gould, Branch Marketing Coordinator
Walk us through how you approached the Mason mural
I would love to! Before putting any paint on the walls, I think it’s really important to have a back-and-forth with the people who are commissioning a mural. I love to ask a lot of questions to see what they find most important, what is right for the space, and how to merge all the ideas together into a cohesive image. For the library, we really wanted to celebrate all Mason has to offer- historic buildings, gorgeous parks, the fair and farmers markets. After deciding together on a style and color palette, I took a ton of source pictures so I could develop a digital mockup. From there, I projected the drawings onto the walls and blocked in the color. My favorite part of painting the library mural was working while little kids came in to pick out books.
I understand that your art journey didn’t really start until you were an adult, can you share a bit about what drew you into art, and what’s driving you today?
When I took my first drawing class in college, I fell in love with the tangible improvements I was witnessing in my work. It feels good to get good at something! But more so, how we were taught and encouraged to think easily aligned with how my brain naturally works- I’ve always been a visual person, always curious and interested in nuance. I love narrative storytelling and creative problem solving. So, today, obviously the skill set of drawing or painting is something that can always be improved on- artists are always working on their craft. But I’m driven mostly to find something new to offer to the conversation- how what I create might better the world around me.
Of your growing number of community art pieces, do you have one you feel the most personally connected to?
Well, I don’t know if I could ever pick a favorite, but I’ve been lucky enough to do projects that intersect closely with my passions. I’m a huge book nerd, so my library and bookstore murals are my favorite settings. I love running by my murals on the river trail, and the public pieces (the Lansing Letters and South Corridor Bus Stops) that highlight iconic Lansing spaces really give away how much I love this city. Having said that, I’m usually pretty obsessed with the next piece on deck.
What do you listen to when you’re working? Do you remember you listened to while working on the Mason mural?
I’m a huge fan of audiobooks and podcasts! Currently, I’m listening to The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (and I absolutely recommend it!), but during the Mason Mural, I was deep diving podcasts recapping my favorite reality show, Survivor!
If you want to see more from Marissa Tawney Thaler you can visit her website, or any of her works across Ingham County. (There's this really nice one at a little library in Mason you should definitely check out.)