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Mara Lantz is a Bay Area-based artist and product design leader. She holds a BA in psychology and fine arts from Hampshire College, where she designed her own concentration at the intersection of psychology, studio art, art history, creative writing, and theater. Most recently, Mara worked at Pinterest as a design leader in the monetization sector. Her acrylic paintings and mixed media sculptures have been exhibited at galleries across the US, including KNK Contemporary in San Francisco, After Time Gallery in Portland, and Artworks Downtown in San Rafael.
In this episode, Mara talks about growing up in a family of game designers. Her father Noah Falstein is a veteran of the industry, her husband James and father-in-law Frank run their own studio, and together the family created Hey Robot , a card game that made it onto The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. She shares what she looks for in a great game and why the best ones let you practice life skills in a safe, low-stakes way.
Mara also opens up about her return to making art after a long break, sparked by watching her young daughter draw, and what it's like to be a visual artist with aphantasia, the inability to conjure images in your mind's eye. She walks us through her painting process, her black hot-glue sculptures made from thrifted glassware, and how she finds beauty in objects other people walk right past. Along the way, we cover Vancouver recommendations, the power of naming things, and why she never wanted art to be tied to her livelihood.
