self portrait Photograph

Mariska has spent most of her life in Austin, Texas, bookmarking the sixteen years spent on opposite coasts. It's the experiences within these most incredible cities of the US, along with her world travels that have enlightened her thirst for the tactile and visual exploration she is now embarking on. Living in NYC for eight years she attended The Fashion Institute of Technology and then worked for the likes of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein in visual display and window dressing. She furthered her interest in fashion and design with eight years in Los Angeles working as a wardrobe stylist and costume designer. She returned to Austin about ten years ago and attended culinary school at the Texas Culinary Academy. She then went on to become the catering director for P&K Grocery and Cissi's Market; orchestrating high concept events and working closely with chefs planning menus to delight the palette and enchant the eye. Her current work consists of a visual journey into the world as she sees it in her digital paintings. "I walk into a room or through the woods, and I see something perhaps someone else may not. There is so much beautiful simplicity around us but in our culture, we move so fast that we miss a lot of the detail. My effort is to capture simplicity and inspire you in a moment of creative imagination. It can be whatever you want it to be." Today, Mariska lives in the west Austin neighborhood of Clarkesville in a 1930's bungalow, caring for her 2 young boys, a vegetable and herb garden, teaching yoga, gathering eggs from her backyard chickens and entertaining friends and family from her kitchen.