Image courtesy of Tony Arruza
Today’s post is about the truly one of a kind, ‘original’
artist, Cheryl Maeder. She is not only a Fine Artist Photographer, but also a
designer of Gardenhouse, a home décor line for outdoor and indoor living
spaces. She’s also the designer of a line of nature-inspired wall coverings, ‘GardenWalls’,
falling under her Gardenhouse brand. Her work was recently selected in a
curated exhibition for Foster Care by Hamburg Kennedy NY and to be exhibited
along side Diane Arbus and Sally Mann. Before I say more about my personal take
on Cheryl, I feel as though I should mention her websites well worth
recognition. www.gardenhousedecor.net
and www.maederphotography.com. As
for her history, well, she’s arrived at a pretty amazing place and we’ll let
your imagination take it from there as of now. Hopefully, we’ll get there in
the future.
Cheryl Maeder is truly one of a kind. Whether admiring from
across a room or with a three foot separation of space between you, being in her
presence is a true pleasure. How perfect our introduction was. I’d been in her
store multiple times (Gardenhouse in the Northwood area of West Palm Beach). In
fact, in a former blog, I’d written about the store, sharing images of her work
and marveling at the many talents she possessed. Little did I know, I’d have
the pleasure of sitting down with her to chat about the art of life.
I could go on and on about her talent. I could tell you the
details of how with her was born what I like to refer to as the photographic “let down your
hair and get real” model movement. This would be when Cheryl realized that we’d
all witnessed the airbrushing and perfectly made-over looks and were ready to
remember the beauty found in women “as-is (or were)”. I could speak of all of
the places she’s lived and the amazing experiences she’s had in life as an
artist, a photographer and incredibly creative mind.
Rather, in describing Cheryl, I’d like to focus on my
personal experience with her (the rest will speak for itself). I walked up to a
coffee shop where I saw a woman in all white. It took me two seconds to figure
out through the sea of people that it was Cheryl Maeder I was looking at. Little
did I know what a colorfully white canvas she would turn out to be. She was an
artistic statement dawned in white. It was perfectly Cheryl as a perfectly free
spirit. She’s was and is the most beautiful cross between free spirit and
driven woman. Insert my random analogy: you can’t paint the canvas until you’ve
cleared (or cleaned) the dust. I’m not actually sure that’s accurate, but it is how I
feel about her approach to life and creative expression. Again, the white made
perfect sense.
The clutter was cleared and she was free to just be her.
There was no beating around the bush, nothing to hide and she was comfortable
in her own skin, allowing her to say what she thought and I can assure you
it was worth the listen. She spoke of not letting others cloud your creativity
and how crucial it is to work together rather than creating walls around your
creativity and artistic development. She spoke of not being afraid to go for it
in life and to never set limits on that “it”. Even more beautiful, she took the
time to give credit to the person that consistently stands beside her; her
husband. Allowing the beauty in that story to remain private, I’ll share one of
the most beautiful phrases I’ve heard in a while when referring to her
encounter with him. According to Cheryl “He just felt like home”. That might be
the very best way to think of Cheryl. When you are with her, you are at home
and home is an incredibly inspiring place.
Thank you, Cheryl for taking the time to meet and share a
portion of your day with me. It was an absolute honor.
Warmest Regards,
Niki
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