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think, to walk my dogs... where I got married and where I cried when I got divorced. To everyone it means something different. That is what I want to give with my art. I believe that is powerful. I believe that is the gift I was given from Joan of Arc by Jules Bastien-Lepage.

Why and how does Ocean City influence so much of your art?

A dear friend of mine, Shaina Horton, gave me my first show at Accent Gallery in Ocean City. I was just starting to take myself and my work seriously. She invited me to be part of the first Fresh exhibition, featuring new and upcoming artists in the area. If you look at my art, I’m all over the place – surf art, dog portraits, maps, and assemblage – you name it I try to put my paint brush in it. Shaina sat me down one day in regards to the art I was telling her I wanted to put in the show. I figured the surf stuff would sell and we would all make money. She said she didn’t want the surf stuff. She wanted my “other” stuff. She scared the crap out me... she knew more about me than I knew about myself at that time. She also then said something to me that has fundamentally changed my life and the reason for my art... she said, “I believe that art can mend this broken world.” I tear up thinking about that moment. That’s what it was about... and from that moment on that’s what it has been about. I will never take credit for the healing energy that goes into my work; that was a gift from Shaina. The greatest gift; that’s why I was able to go back to the Met and look at the name of the artist. I could

finally say thank you. Ahhh...it’s emotional. This art stuff. (wiping away tears). What does this story have to do with Ocean City? I guess it would be defined by opportunity. It is what Talula is about... gifting opportunity to other artists; the moment when someone says your art is worth it; let’s hang it, let’s show the world and let them feel the healing energy of creativity. You win. Your smile changes universal energy every time you gift it to yourself and others. That happened to me in Ocean City, my home, the foundation of my heart.

You once suggested I read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Do you use them as a code for life?

There are a few books that have fallen out of nowhere into my lap and given me the trust that I am on the right path. The first was Letter to A Young Poet by Rilke, The second would definitely be The Four Agreements. Art is a great source to learn about religion. Being religious isn’t really my gig, but having spirituality and faith are two things that have led me to balance. The Four Agreements is a simple “spiritual” code to follow. One of the things that artists face (and another reason why I created Talula) is criticism. Ugh... for someone to say they don’t like your work; it’s so personal. It’s so hard to overcome.

The Four Agreements gave me the tools I needed to persevere in a very criticized medium. Art is so personal. I’ve made some bad paintings. I’m pretty sure Talula has some bad days too. One of the most important things I learned from The Four Agreements is to not take

anything personally (the second agreement in the list). In practicing that (now mantra) gave me the ability to finally get to the point where my art is truly an extension of my being. Line to paper is an extension of my right arm. I feel like I am missing something if I don’t practice my art everyday. I feel successful and validated just in the act of creating, not in the final product of the art, or even in the sale of the art. Having someone buy my work is such a validation that I’m doing what I am supposed to be

doing. I know what it means to love what you do and I am so grateful. Nothing that anyone says or does can sway me from this purpose. I just don’t take it personal.

To view or purchase art by Talula Love Bottoms, go to http://w w w. ta l u l a l o ve bo t to m s . n e t / or http://www.etsy.com/shop/TalulaLoveBottoms.

Local Ocean

Kelly Tjoumakaris finds out what powers artist Maryanne PappanoARTIST OF THE MONTH

I HAVE a friend who is a fine artist. And, she is a fine artist. I say this with complete earnestness. Her faculty for expressing

one’s thoughts or desires with art is done with graceful clairvoyance. She is intuitive and looks beyond what you may offer, finds an orifice to your soul, and turns out art that expresses more than what you proffer. I know because she has communicated my own soul’s voice through art. She has illustrated my fictional series, OLive and Bean. Her crafted art accessed more of the story than my own words.

She is powered by love, but also by rage and there is beauty in all of it. She is devastatingly, habitually philanthropic and religiously rallies for charities. She has taken the lost art of cartography and skillfully revived it for the purpose of art. The effect is nuanced by her incorporation of defined precariousness. She is Maryanne Pappano. She is Talula Love Bottoms.

Who is Talula Love Bottoms?Talula Love Bottoms is you. She

is the artist that is inside of all of us.She is chance, opportunity,

freedom and possibilities. She is that day you decide that it’s time to make some changes. She is the moment of surrender; received by the sound of applause echoing into the universe.

What concepts and philosophies do you explore with your art?

My art is about healing energy mostly. It’s about that moment in time, a split second really, that you find or lose something. That moment, for example, to a child who’s balloon just slipped through their fingers is shattering... but to an old lonely man sitting on a park bench across the bay, it’s the most beautiful feeling of freedom he has seen since his wife’s death. It is about that feeling when you first feel the butterflies of love, the gift of a strangers smile. Moments that change us, really. We can all relate to a line on a map that we have traveled. It is shared yet unique to

each of us and the path we choose to take.

What inspires you? If I dig deep the main inspiration

comes from my childhood (as with us all I believe). My father is a collector of “things,” an antique dealer, post card guru, and a product of the Great Depression. Every box he had was a treasure to me as a kid. Whatever was in it, had its own story. I fell in love with the stories of things; probably a lot like my dad did – but with a lot of folks from that generation; these boxes just got stacked and stories became untold. That is where my art comes from. I want to open the boxes and tell the stories. Old books, maps, wood, toys, tins, buttons, beads. They were read, traveled, turned into boxes, played with, worn, cherished... loved. Isn’t is always about being loved?

What drives you? Art is powerful. In college I

would spend Friday afternoons at the Met staring at this one painting. I can close my eyes and imagine

the magic that painting presented to me. It was as if history, religion, faith, love and understanding was presenting itself to me. I didn’t really understand why I was so attracted to this painting. I never let myself know the painter or the name of the painting until a few years ago. I was afraid that (as an art student) my opinion of the artwork would change if I knew too much. I approach my art this same way. It’s about the viewer. It may tell bits and pieces of my story, but mostly what I want is for it to be able to tell your story. I want the viewer to have that moment that I did at the Met the first time I saw that painting. Pure joy... unadulterated bliss and love for something I couldn’t explain, but I knew it made me feel safe. It made me feel like there was something bigger than me, but that I had reason and intent. For example, I paint what used to be the 59th Street Pier all the time. I’m certain my collectors don’t know that is where I grew up, my beach, the place I would go to

heARTFULLLeft: Artist Maryanne Pappano. Middle and right: Maryanne’s art uses cartography to create a unique piece for her customers.

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