Local artist, Marsha Hammel, has spent a lifetime capturing the essence of life that swirls and dances around each of us, in moments both exceptional and ordinary. For over 50 years, she has resolutely followed an intrepid creative spirit and shared her vision of the world through thousands of drawings, sketches, and paintings.

Now there is a new book about her life as an artist, detailing the arc of her exceptional career - Thriving on a Riff: A life of art and music.

Marsha’s early years were shaped by the nomadic lifestyle of a military family. Born in Miami, Marsha spent time there in the intervals between her father’s Air Force postings in Central America and Europe. She credits those early memories with providing inspiration for both the subject and the style of her artwork as an adult. “That time infused in me a love of Afro Cuban and Caribbean Music.” she explains, “and impressed upon my mind's eye the colors and forms of the subtropics.”

Her parent’s love of jazz music also filled Marsha’s home with sounds that still echo through all her childhood memories. “While I was growing up in Europe my parents played all the latest cool grooves from the States,” she recalls. The music in her life and an interest in dance ultimately helped create the foundation for her career as an artist. “I wanted to be a dancer and I was always surrounded by great music. My art flows from those experiences.”

She describes her very colorful and dramatic style as figurative painting with an emphasis on the human form. “My style is derived from modernism, which includes Gauguin, Cézanne, Modigliani. Those guys created this new genre. I operate from that artistic ancestry.”

After finishing college in Richmond, VA, Marsha continued her gypsy lifestyle and traveled extensively in the United States before settling down for an extended stay in New Orleans. Once again surrounded by an environment infused with great music, Marsha’s art gravitated towards depictions of jazz musicians. She was drawn to musicians who were not famous but devoted their lives to their passion with little to no financial reward. And they matched her style perfectly. “As a figurative painter, performers with musical instruments just go together like red beans and rice,” she says.

One musician in particular, a saxaphone player who performed on a street corner in New Orleans, inspired her to create a 5’ x 7’ painting depicting the man and his instrument. Marsha credits that painting as being the genesis of a career devoted to capturing the style, passion, and creativity of musicians through art. “Saxman started it all. Sax players have become an icon of my work and I’ve done many drawings and paintings through my career that incorporate a version of that earliest painting.”

That seminal painting was also instrumental in opening the door to her business relationship with an art publisher in England. In 1993, Saxman was the first of a suite of Jazz Music images published by Felix Rosenstiel’s in London, and it is still Marsha’s best-selling print of the series.

Her long and successful relationship with Rosenstiel’s has spanned nearly three decades now. The success of that partnership inspired David Roe, Executive Chairman for Rosenstiel’s, to pitch the idea of a book about Marsha’s career to the artist in 2019. “David wanted the book to be about an artist's life - what inspires an artist to live a life that is a little off the beaten path and what inspirations keep an artist going.”

Over the course of two years, Marsha shipped over 500 different items to London for consideration for use in the book. Marsha considers the resulting book to be less of a biography and more of a documentary in printed form. “It's about life and work, but there's a lot of juicy stuff not in there,” she says with a sly smile.

Working on the book took Marsha back in time and reacquainted her with her younger self and her earliest work. “I'm finding that going back to my very earliest work is inspiring new work. I see a lot of artists do that. We find ourselves learning from our young selves. It's probably going to affect how I approach my art going forward and that’s probably the biggest influence that doing this book has been on me.”

Marsha came to Henderson County in 2000 and created a spacious studio on Kanuga Road. Her new home in the mountains of western North Carolina provided new inspiration in nature, but she’s never lost touch with her early inspiration. Paintings featuring intriguing figures with musical instruments and dancers moving to the music continue to be an important part of her artistry.

Marsha’s local representation is The Gallery at Flat Rock. “The Gallery is my partner, and I'm so happy to have Suzanne as a partner because she's so good at what she does. The Gallery is a beautiful space and I'm really proud to be a part of it.”

The book ends with a new beginning for Marsha. Recently she has been exploring the early roots and culture of American music. “I wanted to do a visual history of American music as it came into being here in Appalachia and the mountains of Western North Carolina - when the fiddle from the British Isles met and fell in love with the banjo from Africa.”

For now, Marsha is enjoying the accolades and sense of accomplishment provided by the publication of her book. ”Every creative person loves applause. It’s a recognition of our efforts. I appreciate having my own body of work represented in a colorful, beautiful way and the book is very affirming to me.”

What is the message Marsha would like people to get from her book? First, she hopes people will have a greater appreciation of an artist’s life and how they experience the world. Perhaps, she says, the book will inspire others to unlock their hidden or repressed creative instincts. “ I'm convinced that everyone has a creative mind. But so many people are taught from childhood, ‘Oh, you must stay within the lines. Oh, no, the sky is always blue,’” she explains. “But that’s not true. You can do anything you want. And it's called being creative!”

Mostly, she hopes people will simply enjoy her art. She invites the viewer to keep it simple and enjoy the colors, the movement of the lines, and the emotions of the moment captured on canvas. “I purposefully haven't approached art in a highly intellectualized manner. It is what it is. It’s my experience. It’s how I see the world as an artist.”

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Open Studio and Book Launch
Sunday July 18th, 10 am to 4 pm

If you would like to meet Marsha and see her work first hand, Marsha is hosting an Open Studio and Book Launch sponsored by The Gallery at Flat Rock. Visitors will be able to see an extensive collection of Marsha’s work - both recent and from prior years - as well as purchase her book. The book will also be available for purchase at The Gallery at Flat Rock.

See much more about Marsha and her art at www.marshahammel.com/