I work under the name MM because, for me, it’s about the message in the work—not the person behind it. I am a self-taught artist born and raised in Highland Park, Illinois. My work is rooted in abstraction, where instinct, movement, and emotion guide the process more than rigid form or predetermined outcomes.

I studied Sociology and Women & Gender Studies at Northeastern Illinois University, originally intending to pursue a career in those fields. That path changed after I sold my first painting to Jodie Foster. That moment affirmed my decision to pursue art fully.

Influenced by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, and Jean Dubuffet, I’m drawn to raw mark-making, layered surfaces, and the energy of imperfection. But at the center of my practice is something deeper: I believe the artist is a vessel, not a doer.

When we define ourselves entirely by what we do, we risk putting ourselves into a box. I don’t want to spend my life trying to be an artist. I want to simply be—to experience the present moment and remain open to what comes through it.

Because of this, I try not to force the work. I listen to spirit, intuition, circumstance, and what is present in front of me. I allow the work to unfold rather than beginning with an expectation of what it needs to become. For me, creating is less about imposing an idea and more about being receptive to what wants to emerge.

My work isn’t meant to reveal itself all at once, either. Subtleties bring you back. Something that goes unnoticed today may surface years later because your own experiences have changed the way you see it. The more you’ve lived, the more the work can reveal.

I don’t see my practice as something with a final destination. I want to continue exploring, questioning, learning, and remaining open to wherever the work takes me.

The more I let go of being the doer, the more room there is to listen.