Meet Maria Tsuhako | Emerging Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Tsuhako and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” Greg Anderson In my early 20s, I went to 3 different creative colleges and I would only focus on my goals and my expectation. When I faced challenges and failures, I started worrying about money and time that I get so lost in my brain and would only waste my time worrying. I realized that I was never in the present but trying to control my life and reach for my goals while everything was also about making my mother or my family proud. Over the years as I became a more Spiritual person, I understand more clearly that our life is filled with lessons we need and what we can be thankful for. The more challenges and struggles I encounter I was able to overcome, I learned to let things go and let things unfold itself and feel the satisfaction of how much I’ve grown over the years. So I’ve learned to pursue other goals and discovered art in abstraction and I feel more aligned with who I truly am.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the reasons why I do abstract art is because I feel joy in the art process while not knowing the outcome of my art is. My work of abstraction is like momentum. It allows me to express my most honest experiences or feelings. Such as what kind of signal I am sending or what I am experiencing emotionally, physically, and mentally. My art defines how I feel ( sad, joy, hopeful, challenged, etc..) and so I believe my art doesn’t have a strong consistency in style, mood, or color like a signature. One of my challenges is sharing stories about my work. When someone asks me about my work it is difficult to describe what it is when I can’t find the word for it ( or maybe I don’t fully understand what I was feeling during the time I was painting). Since I don’t necessarily have a goal when I’m painting and so really is a challenge for me to vocally describe my art. My ultimate goal is to continue to study my art and practice art. Because I believe I can create something more beautiful or a thousand times better, and only time will tell. I think I will be facing lots of practice painting and exploring new mediums and techniques and I am excited for the transitions that I’ll be making over time. Overall I think my goal/challenge is having the audience feel a certain way through my art (if possible). But when the audience sees my work and feels some emotion then I think I’ve done my work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I can it would be back in time..I would take my friend back in 2017 to show Darren Waterston’s ‘Filthy Lucre.’ The Peacock Room at Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Marianne Mitchell. I took my first abstraction workshop in Scottsdale, AZ. She was my first teacher who taught me art in abstraction and absolutely fell in love with her art process.

Website: tsuhakomaria.com
Instagram: tsuhakomaria
Other: Available for purchase: https://www.art-mine.com/artistpage/tsuhako_maria.aspx

Image Credits
Crystal Neff (mariaesparza.jpg) Lala Film: Izumi Isao (mariaesparza_02.jpg) Lala Film: Izumi Isao (mariaesparza_3artworks.jpg)