CONNECTIONS
THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH
SUMMER 2007 ISSUE NO. 35
Interview with Long Beach Artist Margie Darrow
By Marti Walker

From fine art to commercial and private commissions, from
temporary public artworks to illustrations and character
development, artist Margie Darrow is at the heart (and perhaps
the helm) of Long Beach's cultural landscape.

I had the fortune of interviewing Margie recently at the Arts Council for Long Beach
where her solo exhibition is currently being held
through August 31, 2007. The paintings and wood designs on exhibit
are part of a recent series entitled Luminous Obscrua.Ó
The work explores emotion driven design through movement, shapes, mood and color

Darrow, 2007 Professional Artist Fellowship Grant recipient, began her career
as a professional artist relatively recently - a fact that only affirms
her natural artistic talent. She earned an associates degree from
Platt College in Graphic Design in 2001, graduating with high honors.
It was around this time that she began painting, and discovered her affinity toward
cubism. She call her unique style 'organic cubism, Ò which is Òsimilar to cubism, but the share are
more flowing,Ó she explained. She further clarified that Òorganic cubismÓ is a combination of her two
favorite architectural styles: art deco (urban/structural in nature) and art nouveau (a natural, flowing style).

I was first struck by the inward, spiraling effect of the paintings. I felt a sense of movement - as if the images were
pulling me in - and that if I were to let myself go, I would find myself swirling into a vortex of
color texture and raw emotion (Yes - the pieces are that groovy!) Incidentally, the bold images painted on
canvas and wood seem to be a stark antithesis to Darrow's quiet soft-spoken manner.

Lately, Margie's focus has turned to intricate wood cut-outs. She began by using a jigsaw
to cut out the backgrounds of her paintings, which progressed
to the more detailed interior cut-outs. ÒI don't really like backgrounds on my paintings, so it seemed
natural to do away with them.Ó The resulting cut-out shapes create a negative space, and give rise to Òsome pretty cool
shadowing effects - especially with the right lighting.Ó Some of the works are painted,
while others are only lightly stained to highlight the natural beauty of the wood.

A project Darrow is really excited about is the ÒFallopian Artopians.Ó The Fallopian Artopians are a
group of 3 women painters (Darrow, Yvonne Sanders, And Justine Serebrin) who put on live,
collaborative painting performances. They set up four canvases on stage and begin painting! Every 20 minutes,
the artists rotate and continue painting. At the end of the evening (roughly 3 hours later), the collabortive works
are finished, and 1 is raffled off to the audience members. ÒIt's challenging, but really fun to get
to share a canvas with other amazing artists.

Ó Margie has been invited to show her work in Long Beach Museum of Art's ÒArt Auction 12Ó
this fall. Featured works will be on exhibit from September 7-29, 2007. The auction will be held on the last day of the exhibition.
Proceeds from the auction will support the Museum's education programming for students. Call (562) 439-2119 x226 for more information.

There appears to be a lot of buzz lately surrounding Margie and her artwork, yet she
seems to be unaffected by all the attention. After she shared her thoughts on the role of art in her life,
I understood the reason for her unpretentiousness. Since I am so soft-spoken, art gives me a voice that I didn't know I had.
It's so therapeutic and centering for me.Ó I would not hesitate to say this it's therapeutic for the rest of us as well.
At times, co-workers and I can be found gazing thoughtfully into the abstract designs that bring movement, color and life
to these, otherwise, sterile-white office walls.
Down the rabbit hole we goÉ.

Contact www.margiemargie.com
www.fallopianartopians.com