Hi, I’m Marin Hooper.
I’m a mixed media maker fascinated by the interplay of fibers, oils, printmaking, inks, watercolors, and collage elements. I’m drawn to freestyle embroidery, detailed oil work, bilaterally drawn shapes, linocut printing, three-dimensional paper layering, and the way water can shape process.
I’m a queer, genderless, disabled, chronically ill human—identities that are inextricably linked to and inform my daily practice. I practice as an act of care and resistance. I don’t practice to make perfect. Rather, I practice to connect and keep learning.
I practice knowing that none of us is free until all of us are free. I create holding this knowing—centering interconnection and interdependence through my work.
Get To Know Me Questions
Haven’t we all in some way, shape, or form? As a kid, I was constantly writing stories, making up my own words, and drawing. In high school, you could regularly find me hanging out in the art room. Although somewhere in there, I started to believe that pursuing art in adulthood wasn’t a viable option. But the arts never left me, and they resurfaced as a major piece to what’s kept me going since becoming chronically ill in 2017. It’s been since 2023 that I’ve really begun to embody and support the artist that’s always lived inside me.
1
Have you always been an artist?
Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
2
Right now, it’s rubber finger thimbles for when I’m embroidering through primed canvas or heavy-weight paper. My thumb and index finger thank me daily!
How do your interests outside of art fuel your artwork?
3
In every way possible! What I do outside of art is just as much a part of the practice as what I do inside of art. A summer spent getting up close and personal with pollinating insects? Prepare to spot them in my work. Gone down a dragon rabbit hole? See how that influences the energy and movement in the work. A road trip out west? Watch for the tones and colors to reflect that. Being in the practice of living fuels my artwork.
Yes, and they’re all quite involved in the business operations! Beans, sweet and mischievous tabby boy that he is, is my head studio assistant. He handles knocking things off of counters, demanding cuddle sessions, and boosting morale (unless it’s close to his lunchtime). Nemo, my service dog, runs the Very Good Boy department and is head of out-of-house support. And Ellie, our opinionated black and white cow cat, runs the shipping department, where she tests every box to ensure top-notch quality.
4
Do you have any pets?
How do you pronounce your name?
5
MAR-in.
What’s your Sun, Moon, and Rising?
6
I’m a Taurus, Pisces, and Scorpio.
