A Mentor: Marika Abrams
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the influence of a woman I met at 15 and knew until she passed. She was the mother of my high school boyfriend Ede and while I was mostly afraid of her as a teenage girlfriend of her son and even well into my twenties, I later realized how profoundly she influenced me.
She was the most forthright person I’ve ever known, never hesitating to speak her mind which at times felt harsh, but ultimately was recognizable as kindness. She was an artist whose talent I did not at first understand and yet now I see her underlying influence on my work. Reflecting on having witnessed the progression of so many of her paintings and the different avenues of expression she explored, I realize the impact she had on the freedom I feel as an artist.
To me she will always be Marika but to the world she is Maria Frank Abrams.
Always with love Marika. Your life was an incredible gift to me.