SPOTLIGHT: BRIGITTE DE MARCO - ARTIST & MURALIST

INFLUENCED

Have you ever had someone cross your path who had an immediate impact on you? Well that’s exactly what happened to me when Brigitte De Marco, an artist and muralist, and the owner of Prickle and Pine Designs, crossed my Instagram feed.

Before I continue, I have to back up a bit. Something shifted in me a few weeks ago and it started in an instant when I stepped over the threshold of Spitz Restaurant in Goodyear (which I wrote about here). It was then that I was first grabbed by art and color and it’s really changed me on a deep level, in ways that I can’t really explain—almost like I feel it moving through me and influencing the way I look at the world.¹  

Shortly after my Spitz experience, I learned of Brigitte. When I first saw what she was doing, it was again the color that caught my eye. There it was again, that vibrant fuchsia. I felt an immediate ping in my heart, it leaped at the way she was living. So alive. So authentic. And so…

FEARLESS

Case in point: the brand-spanking-new custom trailer she was working on belonging to Stephanie Jordan of Keep it Non-Toxic. I held my breath as I watched her reel as she took an electric sander to the paint on the side of the trailer in preparation for the mural she’d been hired to create. In reading the comments on that post, it wasn’t just me who found this anxiety-provoking.

Next was a reel where she talked about leaving her career as a teacher, and that was the sign that sealed the deal. I knew I had to meet her and wanted that to happen before she finished the trailer. Mind you, at this point, I’m just along for the ride. As I’ve written before, who and what I’m to write about comes to me like an “assignment.” The energy behind doing this story was—and is still, even as I write this—pulsating through my veins.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME KNOCKS

I’m not a trained journalist or writer, except that I spent 3 decades writing legal documents. I don’t usually let that affect me though, because I feel like this is what I was born to do. And, I remind myself that all my years of pushing papers have more than prepared me.

Except, on the day I’m to meet Brigitte, those facts suddenly paralyze me. In preparing to meet and interview her, I poked around on her website and found that two other really great articles have already been written about her. This is not something I’d usually care about either, except lately I’ve been catching myself writing with the intent of pleasing you (the reader), instead of writing from my heart. That’s a catch in creativity—a hurdle I was bound to face sooner or later.

Because of the tight deadline—and my needing to head out the door to meet her in mere minutes—I can’t let that stop me. Mentally, I’m tangled up about it. Intimidated. Imposter Syndrome suffocates me. This, coupled with the writer’s block I’ve been experiencing lately, cripples me with doubt.

At the same time, I’m excited. So I focus on that. I love meeting and learning about people and I really want to see the trailer and today’s my last chance.

And, while I have prepared a list of questions, I’ll only ask what comes up in the course of conversation; that’s how I roll for authenticity’s sake. It’s also my attempt to be efficient in my interviews, which actually hasn’t worked so far.

RAIN OR SHINE

I awake to rain the day we’re scheduled to meet. I realize that the elements are another big part of what Brigitte must contend with in her work as a mural artist.

Yet, as though willed by Brigitte’s sunny disposition, the clouds clear and we meet as previously scheduled on what would end up being a windy day. This turns out to be a gift, because the wind directs the smell of the paint away from us.

I arrive at the top secret painting location and the energy is pulsating through me. Whatever greater forces are at work within me, are excited I’ve finally made it to meet her. This is not going to make for a short meeting.

It takes a few zigs and zags of our chatter for me to realize that she is the former art teacher at a local high school and I had heard about her legend before. “She left because she opened her own art studio…” The story was always somewhat vague, but intriguing to me, as someone who also left a career in pursuit of a calling for something greater.

In our conversation we cover many things, and many things that aren’t relevant to this article. However, I realize pretty quickly why the powers that be were so insistent on me meeting with her today. I trip out when connections like this are made because I am shown, yet again, how there is something bigger going on here, both here at The Buzz, but also here in Buckeye. And also for Brigitte.

SOMETHING BIGGER

Back in 2022, Brigitte made the difficult decision to leave her 10-year career as an art teacher to open Prickle and Pine Designs.

She had once envisioned a lifelong career in education, but over time, the writing was on the wall—she knew she couldn’t continue on the path she had planned. The challenges within the education system, which often place an unfair burden on teachers, made it clear that change was necessary. So, she began crafting an exit strategy and taking a huge risk in stepping away from the career she intended to do her entire life.

We talk about the kids—the best part of working in education—and how much her former career shaped and prepared her for what she’s doing now.

I can’t help but think: What if she had never taken that leap? What if she had let fear or comfort or practicality keep her where she was? The countless people she has inspired and impacted since leaving—including me—might have never crossed her path.

At the same time, I think about the students who will miss out on her. The girls especially, who were molded by her presence, being taught LIFE-through creativity—and connecting them to themselves, like she has done for me, in the very short time I’ve known about her.

There’s something about Brigitte’s confidence that makes you feel more confident in yourself. And that’s the mark of a truly gifted teacher—no matter where or how she’s teaching. And, thankfully, she’s still teaching. More on that below.

THE MURAL

I learn that Brigitte, too, was nervous about taking the sander to the side of the trailer. But ultimately, she’s a trained professional, with thousands of hours of experience. And, for this project alone, she dedicated numerous hours to preparation—researching and testing types of paints, seeking guidance from other artists (and found there were none who had done what she was attempting), consulting with paint experts, and learning an entirely new paint process.

The mural starts with drawing the design, then projecting that design onto the surface, and then outlining the design. She gets out her phone to show me the process, but I still can’t wrap my head around how she makes it all happen.

She says, this project—outside of all the research time—took about 24 hours (4, 6-hour days). I ask her when she knows how to stop (that’s something I struggle with myself) and she says, when she starts making mistakes, she knows it’s time to call it a day.

NO DOUBT

I ask if she’s ever intimidated by a project. Brigitte tells me that, as time goes on, she doesn’t so much have to contend without doubt anymore, she knows she’s going to be able to figure it out. Again, she has thousands of hours of practice under her belt.

She tells me she was a little nervous about this project —she had never precision-sanded something this way before. But she likes the physical work involved and sanding was a necessary part of the process.

The day I meet her the trailer is nearly finished, she’s working on the last flower. It’s pictured above, twice. On the left, the completed flower. On the far right, you can see the difference before the depth was added.

I watch her make what looks like mistakes, the paint running down the side of the trailer. Yet, in one stroke she swipes over it with her brush and imperfection is erased. It’s fascinating to watch and impossible to describe. I love this freedom of creation on something that appears to be perfect. Up close, there’s a texture to the mural, to the flowers, that adds to the beauty.

When I leave her that day, the trailer appears to me to be finished. Yet, later that night, she sends me a few pictures and it’s incredible how the flower she was working on has been subtly shaded and added to, and it looks even more perfectly perfect than before.

STILL LEARNING

One of the other things that intrigued me about Brigitte, was watching her reels about learning pottery.

I think it’s easy to look at someone so talented and assume it must be nice to be so gifted. But the misconception is that success comes effortlessly.

The truth is, they are working for it. Practicing. Experimenting. Always learning. And, most importantly, never giving up. Creative work, is actually very hard work.

PAINTING A DREAM LIFE

Brigitte attributes so much of her success to working with other female business owners here in our area, like Saddle Mountain Brewing Company, Enroute Coffee & Tea, and Arie Lane Boutique. She’s big on referencing the people who’ve helped her along the way.

Her ultimate goal (which she is living!) is to make a life out of making art every day. She wants to make sure the that art is part of the community and that art is viewed as something significant, something useful, and a necessary part of life.

She talks about how the importance of art has been lost and that we’re in a phase right now where people are being called back to it. Yet, at the same time people are not giving themselves the time and space to be creative. It’s hard when life moves so fast.

As I have found for myself, creativity is something that must be nurtured, and there wasn’t much time for that when I was working a demanding job. Luckily, thanks to Brigitte, you can…

EXPERIENCE IT

The essence of Brigitte is best experienced in real life and luckily for you, you don’t have to take my word for it. She offers interactive art classes, where you can experience her creative energy for yourself.

Her next “Moonlight Desert Paint Class” is scheduled for March 23rd at Saddle Mountain Brewery. Sign up here.

⭐️ You can also find Brigitte online:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

🕯️ And be sure to follow Keep it Non-Toxic for the details on where the trailer’s next appearance will be, so you can experience (hint, hint, check it out!!!) that for yourself too!

I am so grateful to Brigitte, for sharing her beautiful artwork with the world, for her teaching, and for giving us the courage to explore creativity through her example and her classes.

If you visit Brigitte, please tell her The Buzz sent ya! 🐝 

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1  As I write this, I remember that I had this same feeling—being fundamentally changed in an instant—as I walked up the stairs to The Hallmark House at Christmas.