Meet Mazzy Booth | Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mazzy Booth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mazzy, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from Dunellen New Jersey and moved to Indianapolis Indiana for school. Moving from the east coast to the midwest was a culture shock, but gave me a more broad understanding of how different people can be from one another. I like to think of myself as personable and outgoing and I do not believe these would be my strongest traits if I hadn’t of made such a big move. Change is scary but forces us to grow as people and become more comfortable in ourselves. In my work I like to capture how unnerving these changes can feel, what it’s like for yourself to be the most constant thing in your life, but that still is going to grow and change. Through my moves and travels I have found that my home is in my body and myself and I show that in my paintings through figures and self portraiture. My background impacted who I am today because it allowed me to grow and change when I relocated to the midwest. Forcing me to find home in myself and now expressing that in my work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I use my art as a personal journal; each painting represents a moment of what is on my mind. Letting the many phases and chapters of my life come through in my subject matter. There have been periods of my life where I have gravitated towards more controversial subject matter. My undergraduate thesis was a collection of paintings portraying my queerness, and identity as a gender-fluid individual. At the time my art was a sounding board for my ideas and anxieties towards my identity. Finishing my thesis was a huge learning curve for me and was a lesson in figuring out how to execute an idea in my work. Learning how to let ideas change as they are being executed was my biggest hurtle. I can have an idea for a painting in my mind and get caught up in it not being perfect on the canvas. Especially when my work relates to my identity it can be hard to let go of something so personal. I have had to become in love with the process of painting and not just with the final product. Loving the process has allowed me to enjoy watching a painting change from its original idea into something more.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend of mine was visiting for the week I would be excited to show them the many coffee shops and restaurants I enjoy in Indianapolis. For example a fun day would be to start in Prufrock coffee shop in Broad Ripple because they have the best vanilla lattes. Then heading to downtown Broad Ripple for a great bagel sandwich form Broad Ripple Bagel and exploring the fun shops downtown like Good Earth and Broad Ripple Vintage. Another day could be exploring Fountain Square which also has some fantastic food options and coffee shops such as Bovaconti. My favorite vintage store Zodiac Vintage is in Fountain Square and I love taking my friends there. As an Art History lover a day of exploring NewFields and checking out my studio downtown would be fun and a great time to have conversations about the history of painting and what I am working on currently.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like give a shoutout to my parents for all their love and support and to all my past teachers. I love education and learning and am where I am now thanks to all of them.

Instagram: @mazzy_booth_art