Location : New York, USA
Profession / passion : Artist
Website : marleighculver.com
Instagram : @marleighculver

One Day is an ongoing project sparked by the Covid-19. In the days of isolation we would like to focus on what we do best; bringing people together. Read more about the project here.
We will be posting one new day of someones life every day until we run out of contributors. See our instagram stories to experience these peoples One Day in action.

A text, song or film that everyone should experience.
You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra, truly a dramatic “descending the staircase in a gown".

What is the story behind your profession/ passion?
I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but it felt like a pipe dream.
I continued to study it, in high school I went to a special magnet arts school to focus on mixed media and painting, then in uni I studied Graphic Design with some classes in the arts.
I was working in a design studio years back and started to experiment with painting and drawing again and fell back in love!
It feels weird to own the title as artist, but I really love having the chance to express and create work that doesn’t need to totally serve a purpose or solve a problem. I was so lucky in 2016 to be approached by Tappan Collective to be apart of their artist roster and have been since then!

How do you want people to react to your work / passion?
I want people to love it and feel moved by it, or at least happy. I’m so lucky that the feedback I get about my work is so positive and supportive. I would love for people to really get it and feel a connection to it.

How has the current situation affected how you work?
I have a lot of feelings about it! Thankfully talking to other artists, we all feel the same.
There’s tons of anxiety, doubt, exhaustion. It’s hard to feel creative when I rely on my mood and experience to drive me to work.
I feel tired and sad, and it’s not very inspiring for me. So I just need to be patient in this time. There are some days where I feel somewhat normal. Another things that has been driving me mad is the doubt of my own work and style. Since I make such abstract work, I think people are wanting more concrete things to to feel attached to, so more representative work feels appealing.

What is the most inspiring text you read recently?
I finished Jen Gotch’s book, The Upside of Being Down, a few weeks ago and thought it was so well-written, real and sometimes frustrating! I appreciate her honesty and being able to read it made me see myself in a mirror in certain situations, which was what made it frustrating. Reading peoples’ journey through mental illness has been such a relief while I’ve been going to therapy and trying to learn myself better. I also really like to read about her business and her role in it.

Your greatest achievement?
I feel so lucky in that I have too many to choose from! And I feel like more will just keep coming. I would say my bag collaboration with Coach or painting a mural at Google’s offices in Mountain View, California.

Define what beauty means to you.
Beauty to me is the appreciation and attachment to nature. The distance of modification and embracing of what has been presented.

Describe a smell that brings back memories to you.
Tomato vines. It reminds me of my grandma’s gardens.

Your best trait?
My individuality. A unique response I’m sure! But truly I feel that because I am me, is how so many things work out in the ways I dream they will.

What traits do you treasure in other people?
Adventure, positivity, integrity.

Your most treasured possession?
My Coach bag collaboration! It’s so surreal to me everytime I look at it.

What was the most defining moment in your life?
I had a blood clot in the sinus of my brain in 2017. Funnily enough the symptoms arrived when I was visiting in London. I flew back to New York and was in pain for a week before I was hospitalized for another week and then on blood thinners for three months. That last part was easy but, god, the pain of having auras and migraines and body numbness in my entire left arm that I couldn’t move it-it was terrifying. And then being scared to not fall or fly on a plane again.. That experience changed my life and made me want to follow everything I want in life, no matter how hard. It really put things in perspective for me.

How was your spiritual and religious upbringing and how did it shape you?
I appreciate this question as I’ve never been asked! My nana is Scottish and Catholic, so my mother tried to raise us the same way. But I remember my father saying, “You can do what you like, you can be spiritual or not.” I appreciated that, I’m not religious and it’s not something I identify with, but I do love religious iconography and mythology! I am 100% sure though that the effects of Catholic guilt is deeply in my veins still.

Have you actively chosen to live in the city/town you live in?
I have yes, I knew after living in Virginia most of my life that I needed to be in a large city with more opportunity and creative jobs. Although, we won’t stay here for long because of the effect of the pandemic.

How do you relax?
I am a master relaxer. I play videos games, read, make fun cocktails, watch tv series or movies fun rom-coms, water my plants, eat desserts… all indulgent things. And yoga of course, the healthiest option of them all. I love Sky Ting yoga classes.

If you were forced to sit still for one month straight without pursuing your current profession, how would you spend your time?
If I could do anything I’d live near a beach and work on a garden growing vegetables and just float in the water. I’d want to heal somehow, and the ocean does the trick for me.

What does freedom mean to you?
No consequences.

Do you have any regrets in life?
So many and mainly social. I have so many regrets and embarrassing feelings about many things I’ve done and said! Also, I can be quite indecisive and that leads to regret after decisions.

Should calm come from within or be facilitated by the environment?
This is a great question. I feel it must come within otherwise you will feel limited by environment.

Marcel Proust said nothing exists within itself. Are we brought to life by way of contrast?
I absolutely think so. We are all parts of something and have gotten here by combined fragments. I think if you were to exist within yourself you’d be driven to madness. We come from nature, therefore thrive on other beings and living things.

Lastly, how do wish to see this current situation have a positive impact on our lives?
Be more thoughtful in a many ways, socially, romantically, environmentally. Be honest about yourself and your impact and wants. Do things to help things grow. Love the Earth.

One Day : Marleigh Culver : Artist