Derek Jackson: Today I would like to introduce, I'm excited to introduce artist Maria from Soul to Surface, whose work explores how natural colors serve as a living archive of cultural memory. Through sustainable material practices and community engagement, she investigates the connection between ecology, identity, and artistic practice. Maria works with pigments derived from local landscapes. Eco printing and earth-based materials such as mycelium, creating thoughtful works that honor the stories held within soil, plants, and place. We're also thrilled to celebrate a major achievement in her career. Maria's work was selected from more than 1,000 entries submitted by artists living and working throughout the Midwest. Even more impressive, the selection was made by Mark Pascal, Curator of the Art Institute of Chicago, her work will be featured in an exhibition opening October second at the Swope Art Museum in Terry Hoot, Indiana. Please join me in welcoming Maria. Okay. Welcome, Miss Maria.
Maria Schechter: Welcome, thank you for the welcome.
Derek Jackson: My pleasure. Welcome to Canvas Commentary. I am so glad to have you. so how are you doing today?
Maria Schechter: I am doing very well. We are having nice weather. It's not as hot as it's been.
Derek Jackson: good. I know. If
Maria Schechter: How are you doing?
Derek Jackson: I'm doing pretty great now that I'm here. Yeah.
Maria Schechter: Excellent.
Derek Jackson: And so Miss Maria, you like d you are a cool painter, I'd noticed. Tell me a little bit about how you paint.
Maria Schechter: So a lot of the paintings I do now, so my career started with twenty years of oil painting and which is super toxic, unhealthy for the human and the environment.
Derek Jackson: Yes.
Maria Schechter: And there was a cer we'll get to that discussion, but the work I'm doing now is all earth-based work. So I forage for my natural materials that I turn into dyes that I paint with. So These are methods and processes of historical ancestor artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Van Gogh. They also used plant based pigments and I'm just trying to keep it alive. So I'm a traditionalist,
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: I guess you can say, a little bit.
Derek Jackson: That is so cool. I love that. I have not heard that before. I it it it makes me so happy. so
Maria Schechter: Excellent.
Derek Jackson: when so when you started Oil, did you start in like as an art student?
Maria Schechter: I did. I I did my undergrad at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. yeah. And and then after that I started a art collective. It was like eleven artists. I was working at the Seattle Art Museum. that was like my first job out of undergrad. I think I was twenty or something. and then I I turned into a nonprofit. And it went into twenty-eight cities and thirteen countries around the world before social media, before webcams like this, before you could it was just dial up connection. So I did all the travel and I found all the the groups in each country and did all the training and you know, just shared and and recontextualized the vision because it's not just my it wasn't my organization, it was our organization. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: And then I and then I initiated graduate work with New York University. So I was in New York for five years. And then I received the Benjamin Franklin Award from Schiller in Heidelberg, who said, if you come over here, you don't have to pay $50,000 a year to go to NYU. Come here for free and get an MBA. And so I was like, yes, I'm gonna do that.
Derek Jackson: huh.
Maria Schechter: So I did. So I'm an artist
Derek Jackson: That's all though.
Maria Schechter: with a business degree.
Derek Jackson: Wow. Yeah I
Maria Schechter: And we're called hybrids apparently. I don't know. I just
Derek Jackson: Hybrids. cool.
Maria Schechter: feel like a normal artist.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. so have you always loved art or when did you n figure out that art was more than just a hobby for you?
Maria Schechter: Well, it's definitely never introduced to me as a hobby. it was always
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: because I I spent my whole childhood was with my grandparents and their grandparents and they my grandfather was a sculptor and my grandmother is a painter, and she's German and he's Irish. And then her mother was also a painter and her father is a historical artist, Bela O'Mann. Whose works are in the National Museum in Hungary. So,
Derek Jackson: well now.
Maria Schechter: and like all throughout Buddha and Pest, you can see his amazing sculptures in the round, like in just relief off the buildings, and it is pretty profound legacy he left. So, yeah, I I started at five. I received my first big chunk of clay from my grandpa, and he said, here you go, Maria Lee. I want you to create whatever you want right now. You have to make something. And I was really like, f five. I'm five. I had you know, it was really opened the door and gave permission to start thinking out of the box immediately, to start innovating and start, you know, experimenting. And and so I really appreciate that.
Derek Jackson: When what themes come up in your paintings or emotions come up in your works most constantly in your in most constantly.
Maria Schechter: I would say the work I've been doing for the last decade, which is a a sustainable practice that I've been developing, and really what I've been doing is experimenting with all these n with materiality. It's diving into what is sustainable and like how can I use algae, for example, as a sculptural medium? How can I use mycelium as a medium? and painting. We need to clean that up. So how do we do that? Then I started learning, then I did artist residencies and then I started teaching. And then when I started teaching, I started learning more. And I wanna say, even if you're not the best teacher in the world, the best thing to do is to share what you're learning. Cause it teaches you more. Cause then you get to see how people use the material too. And we're all innovators. And you're just
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Yeah.
Maria Schechter: going, Wow, I didn't even know I could do that with this. So fun.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: So it's always fun.
Derek Jackson: And and what I understand is there so many people talk about the techniques of these masters and it's what you just said, it's made up technique that they found worked for them.
Maria Schechter: Right. And it was also a response because there was a of course, yes, climate change is real, there's a lot going on. and I I wish so much that I could speak to the young artists in Paris who were throwing acrylic paint on old masters' works that were made with oil paint. So having when I would see that, I would try to reach out to them online, although they probably got arrested, hopefully. but we learn from people's works. And it it you know, like I get frustrated, like for example, we're not a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. That bothers me. So I take my own frustrations out. This is how I do it, ladies.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: I don't go through or set stuff on fire or throw paint on master's works. I develop a sustainable program, project, practice. And then I go out and teach it. And it's also a way to address eco-grief, which was coined by Jane Goodall. And so so long as you're making, doing, you are actively participating in healing the earth and you know, letting us continue to learn from master's works and let's innovate on those. Let's make those green now. You know?
Derek Jackson: Yeah. And is that the soil to surface all
Maria Schechter: That's yeah, so the word soil, the number two, and then surface dot com, that's my website. And that is really because everything that I do starts in the soil, 'cause I grow from seed and I grow I grow my color palettes the way they did in historically all the way up until the mid eighteen hundreds.
Derek Jackson: Wow. Yeah, that's true because they used to do Beatles and you know blue was hard to get. You must have how do you get blue then? Or y purple.
Maria Schechter: Well, in the natural world, so blue is really accessible. That's an indigo plant, and that indigo
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: plant can change to greens and turquoise and wow the values you get from each of these plants. It's fascinating.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. wow. That's aw Yeah.
Maria Schechter: It's not out of a tube. It's like either you're the kind of person who likes to go to McDonalds and get your food right away, or you're
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: a slow eater like me and you like to cook your food and take your time. But I've also been a Buddhist for thirty years, so I do a lot of things
Derek Jackson: Ha
Maria Schechter: mindfully. Yeah. I take my time.
Derek Jackson: Well and it it's it's totally true. Do you like McDonald's or do you like the high chef that layers the flavors so you get some more than just something that's just that something? I like that.
Maria Schechter: Well, it also has to do with like it's an art form. My f sister's
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: first husband is a sous chef and he now works with I think it's like some famous magazine. He used to design the menus for like the Hilton and Sophita 'cause he's from Fran south of France. And he really taught us, my family and I, about food and how to cook and what to use and how to taste and Yeah, I mean it's a slow process, but it's also it brings in a dynamic flavor that that you know, Mickey D's is never going to be able to compete with like Alsatian, you know, dinners and beautiful meals from there. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. So what going back to your art, what does your creative process look like from start to finish? Do you just have these ideas of let's do this? Or do you get emotional rage and you have to get it out that how do you how do you put idea to canvas?
Maria Schechter: Well, I I definitely don't have a a rage or a like a lasso style like tax and politic.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: even though I think that's completely exciting, it's like a roller coaster. but my work is more research oriented. So to go all the way to the back, I I actually initially either have a vision or I dream.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: Or it's an engagement I've had with an animal that inspires pursuit. So like the there's a piece called the Tribute the Deer Medicine. And that piece showed at the Minatrista Museum and Gardens a few years ago. and that one I grew from mycelium and then all the decorative pieces are in gold mica mineral. So that way it's sustainable the whole thing. so it'll last forever in a controlled environment, or if you put it in the earth, it will decompose. And in that that instance, I was really sad because I had a beautiful engagement with a deer who visited me in my yard on my birthday. And then just as fast as he was there, he was gone and then he died. Right in front of my house. A car hit him. It
Derek Jackson: wow.
Maria Schechter: was so sad. I I just couldn't b I couldn't celebrate my birthday. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: I stood over him and I prayed for it to be a quick release and but I promised him that I would not let his little well giant deer personality just leave the world. I want people to remember to slow down. So that's why I grew the deer. And that whole story is in the sculpture section of my website.
Derek Jackson: Wow. That's so cool. So
Maria Schechter: Yeah, so it isn't just paintings, it's also sculptures that are used
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: with plant based materials too.
Derek Jackson: That's really cool.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, thanks.
Derek Jackson: yeah, you have to send me that picture and I will post it up. I forgot to tell you that at the pre-gaming. anything that you want, just send it over that you talked about here. I'll put
Maria Schechter: Okay.
Derek Jackson: it over my face and then get some more like pictures and stuff like that on it. grandma.
Maria Schechter: T T.
Derek Jackson: I talked to grandma. I don't know if you watched this couple episodes, but grandma is the a big critique critic for my podcast. So she said I need more pictures. So there you go.
Maria Schechter: I agree, I think that's a great idea. 'Cause we can see
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: some of the work that the artists are doing. 'Cause I thought about that with Patricia. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, if you're talking about it. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So what would your sixteen year old self think of what you're doing now?
Maria Schechter: my God, I could just hear her screaming crazy and so excited.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: Because I was the one at my high school, a group of us started Earthsavers. And
Derek Jackson: Hello?
Maria Schechter: that was a club. And then we started the art club. And and I went to school in the Silicon Valley. The high school I went to was across the street from Apple. And so at the time there was just a ton of tech happening. And of course, we had to take all those classes. But th these clubs didn't exist and so we decided to do EarthSavers and Art Club and get involved and do like public programming for the high school. and it was so fun. It it was definitely what was needed, I would say.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Wow, that's awesome. That's really cool.
Maria Schechter: It's been a long time. It's been a long time.
Derek Jackson: So have you had to face any fears as an artist?
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I mean I was bummed out when I had a piece, it was a my moniker piece that's on my website. And I won the Green award in New York City, so they asked me to ship it to them and then things like that, yes. Yes, it made it there, however, in pieces.
Derek Jackson: no.
Maria Schechter: Total heartbreak hotel, I tell you. So, you know, I've I've made others, but they're just never the same because I'm using natural materials and it's also site specific where I go and where I find the pieces and so you know, there's losses, but that's why you have to insure your work. You can't send it around without having insurance and even if an institution says, we'll insure it for you, you should always have your own insurance. So that was okay.
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: I know.
Derek Jackson: do you and I think I know this answer and I think this is a deep one for you. Do you create for yourself or for an audience?
Maria Schechter: I definitely very selfishly create for myself. But it isn't just me, but I create for animals. Nailed it. And love that you're on it. Yes. I love them. I adore them. Every single
Derek Jackson: Yes. I knew you that w part was coming. Yeah. Why not? Yeah.
Maria Schechter: one of them. It just you know every human has had some kind of engagement with a gnat with the wild. Either a
Derek Jackson: Yes.
Maria Schechter: bird, an owl, a horse, even domesticated. And you just know that there's just something really magical about them, very divine, just so innocent. And
Derek Jackson: Yes. Yes.
Maria Schechter: I want to protect that. I want to conserve it. I want to inspire new stewards. I'm getting old. I everyone's aging. We we need new people who are gonna pick up the work of Jane Goodall and And hold the torch and, you know, really show up for the animals and the wild lands and wild people. We don't need databases. It's poisoning
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: our soil, our water, it's gonna hurt us in the end and all of our animals and the land. When there's no land and there's no people, who's
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: gonna use their products? I mean, there's no longevity in their five year. Business plan. So I'm like, did you include the fact that now you have to offer health care for all the people who are getting sick from that and who will continue to, you know? Or like I like living out in nature and quiet and you know, green spaces. I couldn't imagine having a farm and then a database is like you know, just these engines
Derek Jackson: Ha.
Maria Schechter: running in the background. 'Cause actually the science shows that it it interferes with the birds frequency, with animals' natural frequencies. 'Cause there's lights that come off this thing. The sound interferes. So it causes confusion. So it takes them off their paths and migrations and it's it's no good.
Derek Jackson: So what is a and maybe this is what you are talking about, but maybe not, what is an obsession you have right now with your current work? What are you obsessed with trying to emulate or a theme you're going with?
Maria Schechter: Well, I am just about to complete the Resonance Science body of work that was initiated by the Indianapolis Arts Council and I won the D. Hahn Award. I think it was two years ago. And then they ha they financially supported me building an art studio on my property. And as a way to complete the finish finishing resonance signs. And that body of work is inspired by the high middle ages. It uses updated recipes. And the one jewelry, hair, poppies and seasons. I sent that one to you. That's a part of the body of work and it documents the Midwest palette, painting palette, the colors that live here and their colors of origin. And Like mulberry and pokeberry, you're not gonna find in California
Derek Jackson: Ha ha.
Maria Schechter: or any other western state, you know? And so the colors here and the even the leaves when they change, they hold color. Everything holds color. Even I have a part of the garden, my color garden, that has invasive species. I didn't seed them down. They just grew on their own. And then whoa, ironweed, hello, most beautiful peach I've ever seen. Just yield. just give rise to the color of the land. It's amazing. So I'm fully obsessed with that. Yeah. That's something that
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: and then also just putting it together in these, because the frames are very gothic, but
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: they're also in natural wood, cherry wood from a sustainable farm. and the works are meant to document also the cosmologies in a glass window. That's above the painting, built into the frame. And each of these three pieces are each three pieces you would find in an illuminated manuscript in one of these drawings. So you'll find like a decorative letter that has a little story inside of it. That's a miniature. And then you'll find these wild little beasts, like you would find in the jewelry. So that's the spine of the book. And they're usually these silly rabbits with swords, fighting snails that are also yielding swords. So these are sort of large-sized illuminated pages. And I talk a lot about divinity lines and I use edible gold and I really try to bring together divinity and nature. Because I'm a Buddhist, so I'm not trying to bring in the Christian vibes. I'm more about conservation. And sacred spaces and sacred places, so yeah. Yes, this is really involved. I've never been this involved in in my work.
Derek Jackson: Wow. I know
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: it's it's it's we think it's hard work just painting. You are creating the paint and doing all that stuff as well. And how do you this isn't on my list, but do you create your own canvases or how or paper?
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I I don't make my own paper. I definitely buy hot press because it it has
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: a texture. and then I mount those to board to like a wood
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: board and then I grow like my celium onto the paper or it depends on what the the design is calling for. But I produce all the dyes for the paintings and then I process them and lake them into pigments the way that Leonardo da Vinci used to do. And then I
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: paint my paintings. And it's been a collaborative project. I'm working with a Midwest woodworker to have my designs come to life. So this is the sacred container this frame is holding this painting and this piece of glass that represents what's going on in the cosmo and I'm working with a glass artist who co create those crowns is what I call them. And they're just my gosh, I just absolutely adore this body of work. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: good. I can't wait to see them all.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. It's everything that I feel that the Midwest is and how beautiful it is and how luscious it is. And it's also reflective of the people like they always say, I married a Hoosier and the folks in the Midwest I find to be they say salt of the earth. And it it is so true. The love and the warmness and it just shows through.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. So how do you handle criticism as an artist? Have you had a handle?
Maria Schechter: I definit yeah, I everybody needs it. It's good medicine because if you don't have criticism, you're not pushing yourself. We criticize
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: all day long in the brain and but it it doesn't help if you don't have other artists looking at your work or curators, you know, providing insight on what they're experiencing. It helps to shape it. And I think it's a big fail if someone says nothing. That is tough. I've only had that happen one time. Like, hey, what do you think of this painting? I I'm just curious. And then just sort of nothing and then just walked away. And I was like,
Derek Jackson: Hmm.
Maria Schechter: whoa. She wasn't from here.
Derek Jackson: That hurts more, right? That stings.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, but at the same time, you have to get these different layers on your body to toughen up and know, like maybe she was having a bad day that day. I don't know.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: But there's I talk about art whether I think it's the best work in the world or anything, because there's always room for improvement. There's always gonna be room for improvement in my work at least. and I'm just gonna Continue to learn 'cause like I said, this decade is dedicated to exploration. You haven't seen the work that I'm about to do. Next decade. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: I can't wait. I can't wait. Follow Maria, everyone, so you can see everything she does. Soil
Maria Schechter: Soil to surface follow.
Derek Jackson: two to surface. is
Maria Schechter: Yeah, exactly.
Derek Jackson: there any art piece that changed you as an artist?
Maria Schechter: That changed me as an artist. my goodness, there's so many. I'd probably say Judy Chicago. I mean, n not to be biased, but she did speak at my commencement speech in undergrad. And and she also sang happy birthday to me and then she gave me advice 'cause it
Derek Jackson: huh.
Maria Schechter: happened to be my birthday on graduation from undergrad. And I'm gonna give you guys that advice too, 'cause I think it was pretty neat. So Judy Chicago, everyone's saying happy birthday. And this was just before we were going out on stage to get our diplomas. and she said, Maria, I just want you to know, and I and I'm talking now to the artists, I just want you to know, never read what they write about you, only count the lines. That's what she said. Cause you're you are your captain of your own narrative. And you have to know when to say no. And I've said no to a few different articles recently who you can tell weren't willing to work with you on the content. They just want to write a story that they think you are. But I don't like anyone taking my narrative from me. You're your own artist and you decide what's right for you. And so you control the narrative. And you must always not be afraid to say, I need a sample of that before it goes public so I can make my own edits. Don't ever without a doubt second that. And if they say no, you don't want you don't want an article from them. I don't care
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: if it's Vogue. But they are they they play by the rules. You know, there's major publications and up and coming They usually play by the rules. It's the folks who really want to just piggyback on what you're doing, I think.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm. Or make
Maria Schechter: They want your name their name on your article.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, yeah. So other than that great art art advice. Do you have any more art advice from emer to emerging artists?
Maria Schechter: I have a lot of them. I would say
Derek Jackson: Perfect.
Maria Schechter: the one would be It depends on your o like who you're talk like I'm speaking with you, so I'm gonna share lots of stuff. But I would say careful with oversharing.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: And also works that are in the middle of Devo, do not tell them what you're doing. Only if you have a trusted few partners that you guys are kind of have your own where you do your own critiques together, whether they're online or offline, and you're like, This is the area I'm working, and it's a little darker than I'd like. What do you think if I brought in some peonies or you know, something? And then another it could be an oil painter, acrylic painter. And you have your trusted sources. Those are very needed.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Well and I've noticed with it to add on to that, I've noticed there's a lot of people who give advice to themselves and there's people who give advice to people, if that makes any sense. And you need to find those people who take themselves out of it. They you not just you'll hear the no's from the people who keep themselves in it. And the people I I had one of the examples I have was one of the artists. he's a I a friend of mine, he is a he is a interior decorator. And I showed him my work and he was like, you need to make it more pop. Look at the pop comic books, they hand writ everything. So it doesn't need to be perfect. your handwriting.
Maria Schechter: Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: And I was like, because he took himself out of it. You like, don't listen to people who are like, you're not doing me. I you we all have those, right? Yeah, you're not
Maria Schechter: Yes. boy. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: doing me. Well I'm not doing you. So
Maria Schechter: Exactly. That's the other
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: part. I was recently do reworking a piece of the resonant signs, and I could hear a former professor of mine telling me, Don't be afraid of using your darks. You know, your dark blues, your dark purples, your, you know, your oak goals. You know, get dark. Push those lights up and get those darks down because that's what's gonna give you that. really dynamic. You know, if you're that's what I was looking for. I was looking to bring this owl forward, right in front of us. And the only way I could do that was to really drop everything back and make it really dark, but not so dark that you can't make out the trees and different things going on in the background. So in in that instance I was like, you're right, I'm being conservative. This isn't helping me or the owl. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: then I just push that baby back and wow she's beautiful now.
Derek Jackson: good.
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: what is actually let's start with the art crush. I'll
Maria Schechter: Happy day.
Derek Jackson: I'll cut the I'll cut the video and put the art crush video here. so art crush is who or what has influenced your artistic journey the most?
Maria Schechter: Okay, this is a little bit different. Okay.
Derek Jackson: Who can do no wrong? Okay.
Maria Schechter: A lot of people ask me like who inspires your work or what art is XYZ. And I actually am not, I I think everyone's art is amazing because they did it. But my inspiration is obviously in the natural world, but it's those people historically, like Hildegard of Bingen, who was a one of our original medieval mystics. that is I mean, she for the time period, they were burning women. You know what I mean? And she was getting her own abbey and protecting all these women who who were also really engaging the divine of the natural world. And I think that really bothered the monks because they were like, you're supposed to be about the baby Jesus, you know, and she's like, no, but the plants. And he's like, no, baby Jesus. So I I just love women who find their own path and then they go for it. Just like Judy Chicago, Miriam Shapiro, and even Hilda and as far back as Hildi and All kinds of other women who've just been blazing trails. Those are who
Derek Jackson: That's awesome.
Maria Schechter: inspired me. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: That's cool. So now
Maria Schechter: Definitely.
Derek Jackson: we're going to do the two on an easel. And I see your two. So what is your favorite piece and talk about it? And what is your latest piece and give me some meaning behind it?
Maria Schechter: Okay, so context.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: The Faroe Islands piece now it
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: can be seen as it's a little bit of a sad story, but there's actually a massive change that came from those paintings. Those paintings were I believe it was twenty twenty one I completed them. And I was doing private instruction. This was for a student, she was a sixth grader. we were still in COVID, so we were online teaching.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: And I asked her to choose anywhere in the world that she wanted to learn. This was for an oil painting class. And so I sent you what my panels look like of the Faroe Islands. And those
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: paintings then would less than a year later burn in the Calder fire in twenty twenty one that took
Derek Jackson: Plumbo.
Maria Schechter: out eight hundred thousand acres. I mean it was tragic. In that area
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: of the Sierras. and then I got upset. It wasn't about that my paintings burned, but that they released noxious chemicals when they did that. So they contributed to the poison that the people and animals were breathing. And that was my breaking point. And I just said, not anymore. We're going to do some serious discovery around using healthier materials for a healthier world. And so that's about where it started. And I think they're beautiful paintings, and oil paint is just delicious. Doesn't taste good, but it's it gives for a beautiful finish, you know. And so
Derek Jackson: Uh-huh.
Maria Schechter: does resin, but it's like, and then the planet suffers. So I'm like, you know, I'm just on the other side now, a decade later, successfully completing a sustainable practice. And now I can get to work.
Derek Jackson: Right.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. And so that's where it happened. That's the shift. That's where it changed.
Derek Jackson: It's beautiful. I love it. So it's one,
Maria Schechter: thank
Derek Jackson: two, three, four different panels. Okay.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. And then I also made a box. And the family who had purchased those from me called me and said, We just lost our cabin and all of your artwork and we feel awful because they had bought them through an auction and they contacted me personally day after Christmas and asked if they could if I had any more or if they could commission me to do these again. And had made a box that had paintings on all sides and then I lacquered it and so then I gave it to them for Christmas.
Derek Jackson: that's sweet.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. They needed it. They wanted it. They had been there and I think they may even have been engaged there or something special. So yeah.
Derek Jackson: that's cool. That's also. And then what is your latest piece?
Maria Schechter: That one is the droolery hair poppies and Susan's. And I don't know if like people will be able to see it later in the video or something.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, I'll put it up.
Maria Schechter: but that one is a part of the Resonance Signs. She was the first one. And she has her own, every painting has its own recipe. and So like the pink is poppy and the green in the background, that's tulips with indigo. so now when I see color, like I'm looking at you're behind you with all that color and I'm like, I know how he got that painting. I know how to get that yellow and that red and that purple. So yeah, it has a lot of foraged plants that I put in there. I also grew mycelium inside of the echinacea flower, the cone flower. So I grew mycelium as the cone. And it yeah, they they take about over a month to do each color takes you know up seven to ten days to like and to complete make it a powder and use it as a pigment. So they take a long time. but the layout and the design and the story being told. Is really about the sacred space of where these animals live. And then it's also talking about because you don't see a lot of water in the image. and that's there's so there's a companion piece. So in the
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: universe we have binary stars. And I believe we have them here on earth as well. And that's why I made them in this body of work. And her binary star is. water and in that picture I so then I go site specific, I take the painting to the location where I saw the rabbit and I take
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: a photograph and I show how climate is affecting us because where she lives now is very little water there in that little creek behind her. So in the in my website you can click on the painting and when you do it'll open up the picture Where that painting is sitting in her natural environment.
Derek Jackson: that's really cool.
Maria Schechter: I I feel like it's the only like a not me like the only way, but a good example to connect the two binary paintings. So one is a photograph and one is a painting and one shows you where the animal's sacred spaces or secret place. And then the painting which shows everything like you're sort of peeking in at her private little environment there.
Derek Jackson: That's awesome. So what
Maria Schechter: Thanks.
Derek Jackson: is next for you creatively? Can you give us a hint?
Maria Schechter: I can hint around.
Derek Jackson: Ha ha ha.
Maria Schechter: so I have been documenting all these updated recipes and specifically for painters, watercolorists or any other even if oil painters wanted to use natural pigments like Leonardo da Vinci did, they could. and so I have a class, so I teach a variety of different plant-based pigment classes and it's called Ancient Kitchen. And on my website it's under education. So it shows you all the classes that I teach. So like also art and business, which is very important. and then as an artist with a business degree you have to stay current. And then those classes and then I'm going and I've been organizing all of my colors into an app which is being published this week. It's taken years to do that. And it's under Agent Kitchen as well. Yeah. And so, and then I will be publishing a book that goes with the app so that when I'm teaching, now my students will actually have resources to go to. And we can really focus deeply on color and color processing. And then they have publications. They can either look at their phone. Or they can use the book and then we can develop botanical palettes that way.
Derek Jackson: Wow, that's awesome. So where can
Maria Schechter: Yeah. Thanks.
Derek Jackson: people find and support you?
Maria Schechter: They can go to my website at the word soil, the number two, and surface. Soil2face.com. And it's like that on it's on
Derek Jackson: Okay. I will put it a below us.
Maria Schechter: Instagram and Facebook have the same handle too. Yeah. And TikTok
Derek Jackson: Okay. I'll put that on.
Maria Schechter: is Ancient Kitchen, and I usually post more about processing dye there. So
Derek Jackson: Wow. And then you have your you have your book that's coming out soon, right? and
Maria Schechter: Yes.
Derek Jackson: so you have classes.
Maria Schechter: Yep, I teach online pretty much now
Derek Jackson: wow.
Maria Schechter: full time. I'm trying to keep it part time, but right now we're at a season where everything's in bloom and it's about to start falling
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: asleep. So I'm doing as many classes as I can to get artists to lake their pigments so that it can prove to them over a full winter they'll still be able to use botanical pellets. They just don't have to forage 'cause the dry pigments last a lifetime.
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: The they just wake it up with water or you know, it could be a linseed oil or I use water and gum arabic and and paint with that, so
Derek Jackson: Wow. And that's on the website
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I know.
Derek Jackson: Soil to wait, soil to surface.
Maria Schechter: Surface. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: Backslash education, I'll put that down below. My pleasure.
Maria Schechter: Thanks. Yeah, in two weeks we're doing poke berry, and pokeberry is is really only found in this belt. And I know it's an invasive, people can't stand it, all this stuff. It's poisonous. So we'll go through PPE, we'll go through how to forage it without getting stains everywhere. and then we'll make a paint out of it and then we'll I'll show different paintings I've used to. used with it and they can see the variations of the poke.
Derek Jackson: Wow, that's awesome.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, that's gonna be exciting.
Derek Jackson: Yes. I can't wait. You have to tell me all about it. When it happens, I'll keep in touch with you, okay, Maria?
Maria Schechter: Thanks. Yeah. I'm trying right now to organize my education page so folks who miss the class they can just download it for half the price or something. And that makes it more accessible to everybody.
Derek Jackson: That's also.
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: That's so cool. Thank you, Miss Maria, for coming on. My pleasure.
Maria Schechter: Cute
Derek Jackson: This has been fun.
Maria Schechter: It is. This is wonderful. I'm so grateful that you're doing this for other artists. 'Cause you have your own career to look after. So and it just but it makes sense to have other artists speaking to other artists. I love that.
Derek Jackson: Thank you so much.
Maria Schechter: A hundred percent.
Derek Jackson: Alright, I'll let you go and thank you. And don't forget to subscribe and follow anyone watching the video. And follow Miss Maria. You'll get you'll learn a lot. Yeah. So have a good day, Miss Maria.
Maria Schechter: Thanks so much. Thank you. All right, you too. Thank you, Derek. Have a wonderful week. Bye.
Derek Jackson: Bye.
Maria Schechter: Welcome, thank you for the welcome.
Derek Jackson: My pleasure. Welcome to Canvas Commentary. I am so glad to have you. so how are you doing today?
Maria Schechter: I am doing very well. We are having nice weather. It's not as hot as it's been.
Derek Jackson: good. I know. If
Maria Schechter: How are you doing?
Derek Jackson: I'm doing pretty great now that I'm here. Yeah.
Maria Schechter: Excellent.
Derek Jackson: And so Miss Maria, you like d you are a cool painter, I'd noticed. Tell me a little bit about how you paint.
Maria Schechter: So a lot of the paintings I do now, so my career started with twenty years of oil painting and which is super toxic, unhealthy for the human and the environment.
Derek Jackson: Yes.
Maria Schechter: And there was a cer we'll get to that discussion, but the work I'm doing now is all earth-based work. So I forage for my natural materials that I turn into dyes that I paint with. So These are methods and processes of historical ancestor artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Van Gogh. They also used plant based pigments and I'm just trying to keep it alive. So I'm a traditionalist,
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: I guess you can say, a little bit.
Derek Jackson: That is so cool. I love that. I have not heard that before. I it it it makes me so happy. so
Maria Schechter: Excellent.
Derek Jackson: when so when you started Oil, did you start in like as an art student?
Maria Schechter: I did. I I did my undergrad at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. yeah. And and then after that I started a art collective. It was like eleven artists. I was working at the Seattle Art Museum. that was like my first job out of undergrad. I think I was twenty or something. and then I I turned into a nonprofit. And it went into twenty-eight cities and thirteen countries around the world before social media, before webcams like this, before you could it was just dial up connection. So I did all the travel and I found all the the groups in each country and did all the training and you know, just shared and and recontextualized the vision because it's not just my it wasn't my organization, it was our organization. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: And then I and then I initiated graduate work with New York University. So I was in New York for five years. And then I received the Benjamin Franklin Award from Schiller in Heidelberg, who said, if you come over here, you don't have to pay $50,000 a year to go to NYU. Come here for free and get an MBA. And so I was like, yes, I'm gonna do that.
Derek Jackson: huh.
Maria Schechter: So I did. So I'm an artist
Derek Jackson: That's all though.
Maria Schechter: with a business degree.
Derek Jackson: Wow. Yeah I
Maria Schechter: And we're called hybrids apparently. I don't know. I just
Derek Jackson: Hybrids. cool.
Maria Schechter: feel like a normal artist.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. so have you always loved art or when did you n figure out that art was more than just a hobby for you?
Maria Schechter: Well, it's definitely never introduced to me as a hobby. it was always
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: because I I spent my whole childhood was with my grandparents and their grandparents and they my grandfather was a sculptor and my grandmother is a painter, and she's German and he's Irish. And then her mother was also a painter and her father is a historical artist, Bela O'Mann. Whose works are in the National Museum in Hungary. So,
Derek Jackson: well now.
Maria Schechter: and like all throughout Buddha and Pest, you can see his amazing sculptures in the round, like in just relief off the buildings, and it is pretty profound legacy he left. So, yeah, I I started at five. I received my first big chunk of clay from my grandpa, and he said, here you go, Maria Lee. I want you to create whatever you want right now. You have to make something. And I was really like, f five. I'm five. I had you know, it was really opened the door and gave permission to start thinking out of the box immediately, to start innovating and start, you know, experimenting. And and so I really appreciate that.
Derek Jackson: When what themes come up in your paintings or emotions come up in your works most constantly in your in most constantly.
Maria Schechter: I would say the work I've been doing for the last decade, which is a a sustainable practice that I've been developing, and really what I've been doing is experimenting with all these n with materiality. It's diving into what is sustainable and like how can I use algae, for example, as a sculptural medium? How can I use mycelium as a medium? and painting. We need to clean that up. So how do we do that? Then I started learning, then I did artist residencies and then I started teaching. And then when I started teaching, I started learning more. And I wanna say, even if you're not the best teacher in the world, the best thing to do is to share what you're learning. Cause it teaches you more. Cause then you get to see how people use the material too. And we're all innovators. And you're just
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Yeah.
Maria Schechter: going, Wow, I didn't even know I could do that with this. So fun.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: So it's always fun.
Derek Jackson: And and what I understand is there so many people talk about the techniques of these masters and it's what you just said, it's made up technique that they found worked for them.
Maria Schechter: Right. And it was also a response because there was a of course, yes, climate change is real, there's a lot going on. and I I wish so much that I could speak to the young artists in Paris who were throwing acrylic paint on old masters' works that were made with oil paint. So having when I would see that, I would try to reach out to them online, although they probably got arrested, hopefully. but we learn from people's works. And it it you know, like I get frustrated, like for example, we're not a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. That bothers me. So I take my own frustrations out. This is how I do it, ladies.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: I don't go through or set stuff on fire or throw paint on master's works. I develop a sustainable program, project, practice. And then I go out and teach it. And it's also a way to address eco-grief, which was coined by Jane Goodall. And so so long as you're making, doing, you are actively participating in healing the earth and you know, letting us continue to learn from master's works and let's innovate on those. Let's make those green now. You know?
Derek Jackson: Yeah. And is that the soil to surface all
Maria Schechter: That's yeah, so the word soil, the number two, and then surface dot com, that's my website. And that is really because everything that I do starts in the soil, 'cause I grow from seed and I grow I grow my color palettes the way they did in historically all the way up until the mid eighteen hundreds.
Derek Jackson: Wow. Yeah, that's true because they used to do Beatles and you know blue was hard to get. You must have how do you get blue then? Or y purple.
Maria Schechter: Well, in the natural world, so blue is really accessible. That's an indigo plant, and that indigo
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: plant can change to greens and turquoise and wow the values you get from each of these plants. It's fascinating.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. wow. That's aw Yeah.
Maria Schechter: It's not out of a tube. It's like either you're the kind of person who likes to go to McDonalds and get your food right away, or you're
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: a slow eater like me and you like to cook your food and take your time. But I've also been a Buddhist for thirty years, so I do a lot of things
Derek Jackson: Ha
Maria Schechter: mindfully. Yeah. I take my time.
Derek Jackson: Well and it it's it's totally true. Do you like McDonald's or do you like the high chef that layers the flavors so you get some more than just something that's just that something? I like that.
Maria Schechter: Well, it also has to do with like it's an art form. My f sister's
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: first husband is a sous chef and he now works with I think it's like some famous magazine. He used to design the menus for like the Hilton and Sophita 'cause he's from Fran south of France. And he really taught us, my family and I, about food and how to cook and what to use and how to taste and Yeah, I mean it's a slow process, but it's also it brings in a dynamic flavor that that you know, Mickey D's is never going to be able to compete with like Alsatian, you know, dinners and beautiful meals from there. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. So what going back to your art, what does your creative process look like from start to finish? Do you just have these ideas of let's do this? Or do you get emotional rage and you have to get it out that how do you how do you put idea to canvas?
Maria Schechter: Well, I I definitely don't have a a rage or a like a lasso style like tax and politic.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: even though I think that's completely exciting, it's like a roller coaster. but my work is more research oriented. So to go all the way to the back, I I actually initially either have a vision or I dream.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: Or it's an engagement I've had with an animal that inspires pursuit. So like the there's a piece called the Tribute the Deer Medicine. And that piece showed at the Minatrista Museum and Gardens a few years ago. and that one I grew from mycelium and then all the decorative pieces are in gold mica mineral. So that way it's sustainable the whole thing. so it'll last forever in a controlled environment, or if you put it in the earth, it will decompose. And in that that instance, I was really sad because I had a beautiful engagement with a deer who visited me in my yard on my birthday. And then just as fast as he was there, he was gone and then he died. Right in front of my house. A car hit him. It
Derek Jackson: wow.
Maria Schechter: was so sad. I I just couldn't b I couldn't celebrate my birthday. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: I stood over him and I prayed for it to be a quick release and but I promised him that I would not let his little well giant deer personality just leave the world. I want people to remember to slow down. So that's why I grew the deer. And that whole story is in the sculpture section of my website.
Derek Jackson: Wow. That's so cool. So
Maria Schechter: Yeah, so it isn't just paintings, it's also sculptures that are used
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: with plant based materials too.
Derek Jackson: That's really cool.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, thanks.
Derek Jackson: yeah, you have to send me that picture and I will post it up. I forgot to tell you that at the pre-gaming. anything that you want, just send it over that you talked about here. I'll put
Maria Schechter: Okay.
Derek Jackson: it over my face and then get some more like pictures and stuff like that on it. grandma.
Maria Schechter: T T.
Derek Jackson: I talked to grandma. I don't know if you watched this couple episodes, but grandma is the a big critique critic for my podcast. So she said I need more pictures. So there you go.
Maria Schechter: I agree, I think that's a great idea. 'Cause we can see
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: some of the work that the artists are doing. 'Cause I thought about that with Patricia. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, if you're talking about it. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So what would your sixteen year old self think of what you're doing now?
Maria Schechter: my God, I could just hear her screaming crazy and so excited.
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: Because I was the one at my high school, a group of us started Earthsavers. And
Derek Jackson: Hello?
Maria Schechter: that was a club. And then we started the art club. And and I went to school in the Silicon Valley. The high school I went to was across the street from Apple. And so at the time there was just a ton of tech happening. And of course, we had to take all those classes. But th these clubs didn't exist and so we decided to do EarthSavers and Art Club and get involved and do like public programming for the high school. and it was so fun. It it was definitely what was needed, I would say.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Wow, that's awesome. That's really cool.
Maria Schechter: It's been a long time. It's been a long time.
Derek Jackson: So have you had to face any fears as an artist?
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I mean I was bummed out when I had a piece, it was a my moniker piece that's on my website. And I won the Green award in New York City, so they asked me to ship it to them and then things like that, yes. Yes, it made it there, however, in pieces.
Derek Jackson: no.
Maria Schechter: Total heartbreak hotel, I tell you. So, you know, I've I've made others, but they're just never the same because I'm using natural materials and it's also site specific where I go and where I find the pieces and so you know, there's losses, but that's why you have to insure your work. You can't send it around without having insurance and even if an institution says, we'll insure it for you, you should always have your own insurance. So that was okay.
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: I know.
Derek Jackson: do you and I think I know this answer and I think this is a deep one for you. Do you create for yourself or for an audience?
Maria Schechter: I definitely very selfishly create for myself. But it isn't just me, but I create for animals. Nailed it. And love that you're on it. Yes. I love them. I adore them. Every single
Derek Jackson: Yes. I knew you that w part was coming. Yeah. Why not? Yeah.
Maria Schechter: one of them. It just you know every human has had some kind of engagement with a gnat with the wild. Either a
Derek Jackson: Yes.
Maria Schechter: bird, an owl, a horse, even domesticated. And you just know that there's just something really magical about them, very divine, just so innocent. And
Derek Jackson: Yes. Yes.
Maria Schechter: I want to protect that. I want to conserve it. I want to inspire new stewards. I'm getting old. I everyone's aging. We we need new people who are gonna pick up the work of Jane Goodall and And hold the torch and, you know, really show up for the animals and the wild lands and wild people. We don't need databases. It's poisoning
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: our soil, our water, it's gonna hurt us in the end and all of our animals and the land. When there's no land and there's no people, who's
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: gonna use their products? I mean, there's no longevity in their five year. Business plan. So I'm like, did you include the fact that now you have to offer health care for all the people who are getting sick from that and who will continue to, you know? Or like I like living out in nature and quiet and you know, green spaces. I couldn't imagine having a farm and then a database is like you know, just these engines
Derek Jackson: Ha.
Maria Schechter: running in the background. 'Cause actually the science shows that it it interferes with the birds frequency, with animals' natural frequencies. 'Cause there's lights that come off this thing. The sound interferes. So it causes confusion. So it takes them off their paths and migrations and it's it's no good.
Derek Jackson: So what is a and maybe this is what you are talking about, but maybe not, what is an obsession you have right now with your current work? What are you obsessed with trying to emulate or a theme you're going with?
Maria Schechter: Well, I am just about to complete the Resonance Science body of work that was initiated by the Indianapolis Arts Council and I won the D. Hahn Award. I think it was two years ago. And then they ha they financially supported me building an art studio on my property. And as a way to complete the finish finishing resonance signs. And that body of work is inspired by the high middle ages. It uses updated recipes. And the one jewelry, hair, poppies and seasons. I sent that one to you. That's a part of the body of work and it documents the Midwest palette, painting palette, the colors that live here and their colors of origin. And Like mulberry and pokeberry, you're not gonna find in California
Derek Jackson: Ha ha.
Maria Schechter: or any other western state, you know? And so the colors here and the even the leaves when they change, they hold color. Everything holds color. Even I have a part of the garden, my color garden, that has invasive species. I didn't seed them down. They just grew on their own. And then whoa, ironweed, hello, most beautiful peach I've ever seen. Just yield. just give rise to the color of the land. It's amazing. So I'm fully obsessed with that. Yeah. That's something that
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: and then also just putting it together in these, because the frames are very gothic, but
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: they're also in natural wood, cherry wood from a sustainable farm. and the works are meant to document also the cosmologies in a glass window. That's above the painting, built into the frame. And each of these three pieces are each three pieces you would find in an illuminated manuscript in one of these drawings. So you'll find like a decorative letter that has a little story inside of it. That's a miniature. And then you'll find these wild little beasts, like you would find in the jewelry. So that's the spine of the book. And they're usually these silly rabbits with swords, fighting snails that are also yielding swords. So these are sort of large-sized illuminated pages. And I talk a lot about divinity lines and I use edible gold and I really try to bring together divinity and nature. Because I'm a Buddhist, so I'm not trying to bring in the Christian vibes. I'm more about conservation. And sacred spaces and sacred places, so yeah. Yes, this is really involved. I've never been this involved in in my work.
Derek Jackson: Wow. I know
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: it's it's it's we think it's hard work just painting. You are creating the paint and doing all that stuff as well. And how do you this isn't on my list, but do you create your own canvases or how or paper?
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I I don't make my own paper. I definitely buy hot press because it it has
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: a texture. and then I mount those to board to like a wood
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: board and then I grow like my celium onto the paper or it depends on what the the design is calling for. But I produce all the dyes for the paintings and then I process them and lake them into pigments the way that Leonardo da Vinci used to do. And then I
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: paint my paintings. And it's been a collaborative project. I'm working with a Midwest woodworker to have my designs come to life. So this is the sacred container this frame is holding this painting and this piece of glass that represents what's going on in the cosmo and I'm working with a glass artist who co create those crowns is what I call them. And they're just my gosh, I just absolutely adore this body of work. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: good. I can't wait to see them all.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. It's everything that I feel that the Midwest is and how beautiful it is and how luscious it is. And it's also reflective of the people like they always say, I married a Hoosier and the folks in the Midwest I find to be they say salt of the earth. And it it is so true. The love and the warmness and it just shows through.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. So how do you handle criticism as an artist? Have you had a handle?
Maria Schechter: I definit yeah, I everybody needs it. It's good medicine because if you don't have criticism, you're not pushing yourself. We criticize
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: all day long in the brain and but it it doesn't help if you don't have other artists looking at your work or curators, you know, providing insight on what they're experiencing. It helps to shape it. And I think it's a big fail if someone says nothing. That is tough. I've only had that happen one time. Like, hey, what do you think of this painting? I I'm just curious. And then just sort of nothing and then just walked away. And I was like,
Derek Jackson: Hmm.
Maria Schechter: whoa. She wasn't from here.
Derek Jackson: That hurts more, right? That stings.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, but at the same time, you have to get these different layers on your body to toughen up and know, like maybe she was having a bad day that day. I don't know.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: But there's I talk about art whether I think it's the best work in the world or anything, because there's always room for improvement. There's always gonna be room for improvement in my work at least. and I'm just gonna Continue to learn 'cause like I said, this decade is dedicated to exploration. You haven't seen the work that I'm about to do. Next decade. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: I can't wait. I can't wait. Follow Maria, everyone, so you can see everything she does. Soil
Maria Schechter: Soil to surface follow.
Derek Jackson: two to surface. is
Maria Schechter: Yeah, exactly.
Derek Jackson: there any art piece that changed you as an artist?
Maria Schechter: That changed me as an artist. my goodness, there's so many. I'd probably say Judy Chicago. I mean, n not to be biased, but she did speak at my commencement speech in undergrad. And and she also sang happy birthday to me and then she gave me advice 'cause it
Derek Jackson: huh.
Maria Schechter: happened to be my birthday on graduation from undergrad. And I'm gonna give you guys that advice too, 'cause I think it was pretty neat. So Judy Chicago, everyone's saying happy birthday. And this was just before we were going out on stage to get our diplomas. and she said, Maria, I just want you to know, and I and I'm talking now to the artists, I just want you to know, never read what they write about you, only count the lines. That's what she said. Cause you're you are your captain of your own narrative. And you have to know when to say no. And I've said no to a few different articles recently who you can tell weren't willing to work with you on the content. They just want to write a story that they think you are. But I don't like anyone taking my narrative from me. You're your own artist and you decide what's right for you. And so you control the narrative. And you must always not be afraid to say, I need a sample of that before it goes public so I can make my own edits. Don't ever without a doubt second that. And if they say no, you don't want you don't want an article from them. I don't care
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: if it's Vogue. But they are they they play by the rules. You know, there's major publications and up and coming They usually play by the rules. It's the folks who really want to just piggyback on what you're doing, I think.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm. Or make
Maria Schechter: They want your name their name on your article.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, yeah. So other than that great art art advice. Do you have any more art advice from emer to emerging artists?
Maria Schechter: I have a lot of them. I would say
Derek Jackson: Perfect.
Maria Schechter: the one would be It depends on your o like who you're talk like I'm speaking with you, so I'm gonna share lots of stuff. But I would say careful with oversharing.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: And also works that are in the middle of Devo, do not tell them what you're doing. Only if you have a trusted few partners that you guys are kind of have your own where you do your own critiques together, whether they're online or offline, and you're like, This is the area I'm working, and it's a little darker than I'd like. What do you think if I brought in some peonies or you know, something? And then another it could be an oil painter, acrylic painter. And you have your trusted sources. Those are very needed.
Derek Jackson: Yeah. Well and I've noticed with it to add on to that, I've noticed there's a lot of people who give advice to themselves and there's people who give advice to people, if that makes any sense. And you need to find those people who take themselves out of it. They you not just you'll hear the no's from the people who keep themselves in it. And the people I I had one of the examples I have was one of the artists. he's a I a friend of mine, he is a he is a interior decorator. And I showed him my work and he was like, you need to make it more pop. Look at the pop comic books, they hand writ everything. So it doesn't need to be perfect. your handwriting.
Maria Schechter: Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: And I was like, because he took himself out of it. You like, don't listen to people who are like, you're not doing me. I you we all have those, right? Yeah, you're not
Maria Schechter: Yes. boy. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: doing me. Well I'm not doing you. So
Maria Schechter: Exactly. That's the other
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: part. I was recently do reworking a piece of the resonant signs, and I could hear a former professor of mine telling me, Don't be afraid of using your darks. You know, your dark blues, your dark purples, your, you know, your oak goals. You know, get dark. Push those lights up and get those darks down because that's what's gonna give you that. really dynamic. You know, if you're that's what I was looking for. I was looking to bring this owl forward, right in front of us. And the only way I could do that was to really drop everything back and make it really dark, but not so dark that you can't make out the trees and different things going on in the background. So in in that instance I was like, you're right, I'm being conservative. This isn't helping me or the owl. So
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: then I just push that baby back and wow she's beautiful now.
Derek Jackson: good.
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: what is actually let's start with the art crush. I'll
Maria Schechter: Happy day.
Derek Jackson: I'll cut the I'll cut the video and put the art crush video here. so art crush is who or what has influenced your artistic journey the most?
Maria Schechter: Okay, this is a little bit different. Okay.
Derek Jackson: Who can do no wrong? Okay.
Maria Schechter: A lot of people ask me like who inspires your work or what art is XYZ. And I actually am not, I I think everyone's art is amazing because they did it. But my inspiration is obviously in the natural world, but it's those people historically, like Hildegard of Bingen, who was a one of our original medieval mystics. that is I mean, she for the time period, they were burning women. You know what I mean? And she was getting her own abbey and protecting all these women who who were also really engaging the divine of the natural world. And I think that really bothered the monks because they were like, you're supposed to be about the baby Jesus, you know, and she's like, no, but the plants. And he's like, no, baby Jesus. So I I just love women who find their own path and then they go for it. Just like Judy Chicago, Miriam Shapiro, and even Hilda and as far back as Hildi and All kinds of other women who've just been blazing trails. Those are who
Derek Jackson: That's awesome.
Maria Schechter: inspired me. Yeah.
Derek Jackson: That's cool. So now
Maria Schechter: Definitely.
Derek Jackson: we're going to do the two on an easel. And I see your two. So what is your favorite piece and talk about it? And what is your latest piece and give me some meaning behind it?
Maria Schechter: Okay, so context.
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: The Faroe Islands piece now it
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: can be seen as it's a little bit of a sad story, but there's actually a massive change that came from those paintings. Those paintings were I believe it was twenty twenty one I completed them. And I was doing private instruction. This was for a student, she was a sixth grader. we were still in COVID, so we were online teaching.
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: And I asked her to choose anywhere in the world that she wanted to learn. This was for an oil painting class. And so I sent you what my panels look like of the Faroe Islands. And those
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: paintings then would less than a year later burn in the Calder fire in twenty twenty one that took
Derek Jackson: Plumbo.
Maria Schechter: out eight hundred thousand acres. I mean it was tragic. In that area
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: of the Sierras. and then I got upset. It wasn't about that my paintings burned, but that they released noxious chemicals when they did that. So they contributed to the poison that the people and animals were breathing. And that was my breaking point. And I just said, not anymore. We're going to do some serious discovery around using healthier materials for a healthier world. And so that's about where it started. And I think they're beautiful paintings, and oil paint is just delicious. Doesn't taste good, but it's it gives for a beautiful finish, you know. And so
Derek Jackson: Uh-huh.
Maria Schechter: does resin, but it's like, and then the planet suffers. So I'm like, you know, I'm just on the other side now, a decade later, successfully completing a sustainable practice. And now I can get to work.
Derek Jackson: Right.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. And so that's where it happened. That's the shift. That's where it changed.
Derek Jackson: It's beautiful. I love it. So it's one,
Maria Schechter: thank
Derek Jackson: two, three, four different panels. Okay.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. And then I also made a box. And the family who had purchased those from me called me and said, We just lost our cabin and all of your artwork and we feel awful because they had bought them through an auction and they contacted me personally day after Christmas and asked if they could if I had any more or if they could commission me to do these again. And had made a box that had paintings on all sides and then I lacquered it and so then I gave it to them for Christmas.
Derek Jackson: that's sweet.
Maria Schechter: Yeah. They needed it. They wanted it. They had been there and I think they may even have been engaged there or something special. So yeah.
Derek Jackson: that's cool. That's also. And then what is your latest piece?
Maria Schechter: That one is the droolery hair poppies and Susan's. And I don't know if like people will be able to see it later in the video or something.
Derek Jackson: Yeah, I'll put it up.
Maria Schechter: but that one is a part of the Resonance Signs. She was the first one. And she has her own, every painting has its own recipe. and So like the pink is poppy and the green in the background, that's tulips with indigo. so now when I see color, like I'm looking at you're behind you with all that color and I'm like, I know how he got that painting. I know how to get that yellow and that red and that purple. So yeah, it has a lot of foraged plants that I put in there. I also grew mycelium inside of the echinacea flower, the cone flower. So I grew mycelium as the cone. And it yeah, they they take about over a month to do each color takes you know up seven to ten days to like and to complete make it a powder and use it as a pigment. So they take a long time. but the layout and the design and the story being told. Is really about the sacred space of where these animals live. And then it's also talking about because you don't see a lot of water in the image. and that's there's so there's a companion piece. So in the
Derek Jackson: Okay.
Maria Schechter: universe we have binary stars. And I believe we have them here on earth as well. And that's why I made them in this body of work. And her binary star is. water and in that picture I so then I go site specific, I take the painting to the location where I saw the rabbit and I take
Derek Jackson: Mm-hmm.
Maria Schechter: a photograph and I show how climate is affecting us because where she lives now is very little water there in that little creek behind her. So in the in my website you can click on the painting and when you do it'll open up the picture Where that painting is sitting in her natural environment.
Derek Jackson: that's really cool.
Maria Schechter: I I feel like it's the only like a not me like the only way, but a good example to connect the two binary paintings. So one is a photograph and one is a painting and one shows you where the animal's sacred spaces or secret place. And then the painting which shows everything like you're sort of peeking in at her private little environment there.
Derek Jackson: That's awesome. So what
Maria Schechter: Thanks.
Derek Jackson: is next for you creatively? Can you give us a hint?
Maria Schechter: I can hint around.
Derek Jackson: Ha ha ha.
Maria Schechter: so I have been documenting all these updated recipes and specifically for painters, watercolorists or any other even if oil painters wanted to use natural pigments like Leonardo da Vinci did, they could. and so I have a class, so I teach a variety of different plant-based pigment classes and it's called Ancient Kitchen. And on my website it's under education. So it shows you all the classes that I teach. So like also art and business, which is very important. and then as an artist with a business degree you have to stay current. And then those classes and then I'm going and I've been organizing all of my colors into an app which is being published this week. It's taken years to do that. And it's under Agent Kitchen as well. Yeah. And so, and then I will be publishing a book that goes with the app so that when I'm teaching, now my students will actually have resources to go to. And we can really focus deeply on color and color processing. And then they have publications. They can either look at their phone. Or they can use the book and then we can develop botanical palettes that way.
Derek Jackson: Wow, that's awesome. So where can
Maria Schechter: Yeah. Thanks.
Derek Jackson: people find and support you?
Maria Schechter: They can go to my website at the word soil, the number two, and surface. Soil2face.com. And it's like that on it's on
Derek Jackson: Okay. I will put it a below us.
Maria Schechter: Instagram and Facebook have the same handle too. Yeah. And TikTok
Derek Jackson: Okay. I'll put that on.
Maria Schechter: is Ancient Kitchen, and I usually post more about processing dye there. So
Derek Jackson: Wow. And then you have your you have your book that's coming out soon, right? and
Maria Schechter: Yes.
Derek Jackson: so you have classes.
Maria Schechter: Yep, I teach online pretty much now
Derek Jackson: wow.
Maria Schechter: full time. I'm trying to keep it part time, but right now we're at a season where everything's in bloom and it's about to start falling
Derek Jackson: Yeah.
Maria Schechter: asleep. So I'm doing as many classes as I can to get artists to lake their pigments so that it can prove to them over a full winter they'll still be able to use botanical pellets. They just don't have to forage 'cause the dry pigments last a lifetime.
Derek Jackson: Wow.
Maria Schechter: The they just wake it up with water or you know, it could be a linseed oil or I use water and gum arabic and and paint with that, so
Derek Jackson: Wow. And that's on the website
Maria Schechter: Yeah, I know.
Derek Jackson: Soil to wait, soil to surface.
Maria Schechter: Surface. Mm-hmm.
Derek Jackson: Backslash education, I'll put that down below. My pleasure.
Maria Schechter: Thanks. Yeah, in two weeks we're doing poke berry, and pokeberry is is really only found in this belt. And I know it's an invasive, people can't stand it, all this stuff. It's poisonous. So we'll go through PPE, we'll go through how to forage it without getting stains everywhere. and then we'll make a paint out of it and then we'll I'll show different paintings I've used to. used with it and they can see the variations of the poke.
Derek Jackson: Wow, that's awesome.
Maria Schechter: Yeah, that's gonna be exciting.
Derek Jackson: Yes. I can't wait. You have to tell me all about it. When it happens, I'll keep in touch with you, okay, Maria?
Maria Schechter: Thanks. Yeah. I'm trying right now to organize my education page so folks who miss the class they can just download it for half the price or something. And that makes it more accessible to everybody.
Derek Jackson: That's also.
Maria Schechter: Yeah.
Derek Jackson: That's so cool. Thank you, Miss Maria, for coming on. My pleasure.
Maria Schechter: Cute
Derek Jackson: This has been fun.
Maria Schechter: It is. This is wonderful. I'm so grateful that you're doing this for other artists. 'Cause you have your own career to look after. So and it just but it makes sense to have other artists speaking to other artists. I love that.
Derek Jackson: Thank you so much.
Maria Schechter: A hundred percent.
Derek Jackson: Alright, I'll let you go and thank you. And don't forget to subscribe and follow anyone watching the video. And follow Miss Maria. You'll get you'll learn a lot. Yeah. So have a good day, Miss Maria.
Maria Schechter: Thanks so much. Thank you. All right, you too. Thank you, Derek. Have a wonderful week. Bye.
Derek Jackson: Bye.
