Marvely Neme
Artist Statement
Ever since I could hold a crayon in my hand, I loved to draw. I drew stick figures on my dad’s recycled office paper, drew princesses and princes on stools, and drew giant bugs on my grandparent’s walls. I was born with the urge to create so it was no surprise I ended up choosing art as my career choice. However, I never thought it would be Graphic Design. After years of getting top places throughout all my academic years up to high school, I was given an open choice to where I wanted to go. Turns out, I was so burnt out and so consumed on the thought of getting the best grades that I never thought, what do I want to do? I hated graphic design. But for someone that had no idea on what to do next with their life, I chose graphic design.
I thought it was a pretentious career. To design was to make little elements and take no account on the elements of drawing or painting, the main art forms I enjoyed. I was completely wrong. If not for my years in design, I would not be as experienced as I am in color palettes, composition creation, and balance. I would have also not been able to explore a long-lost part of my Lebanese heritage through its gastronomy, mosaics, and motifs, elements that urged me to become a more versatile designer. But most importantly, I would have never realized that the little “pretentious career” was going to become what I love to do. To create and to design is what brings me joy. And all of this came to be because of a decision I took on a whim.
After high school, I learned that this idea to just do things on a whim is what life is. I used to be so afraid of trying new things because they would probably turn out “wrong”. With design, I learned that I should just “try it, mess around with it, see how it looks”. This is not to say I’m completely unafraid of change. I am actually absolutely terrified by it. But in the same way that using a different color I never thought of using suddenly balances out my entire design, a little change is something that can instead of being “wrong” can become something great. Design opened me up to change and what life truly is. No matter how much you plan things out it’s never going to work. So just “mess around with it, try it, see how it looks.”
