Elena Rodriguez Marcozzi: Spotlight on AmeriCorps Artist-in- Residence

Self Portrait oil on canvas Calavera Acrylic (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

Like most grad students, artist Elena Marcozzi is looking for cheaper ways to get a post graduate education. She learned that her school of choice offered 50% off tuition if she signed up for AmeriCorps. On top of that, AmeriCorps members who successfully complete a term of service are eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award worth $6,495 per completed term.

Solitaire oil on wood Self Portrait oil on paper (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

After signing up for an 11-month full-time term of service as an AmeriCorps artist-in-residence at Imagine Art, the Motown native and talented artist made the long drive from Michigan to Austin with her mom. They traveled from their rust-belt hometown on the Canadian border next to Lakes Erie and Huron, and headed southward into the heart of Texas and milder climate. Unlike hardy Detroiters, who are used to frigid snowy weather and the biting winds of winter, central Texans maybe get two weeks of really cold temperatures, and rarely snow.

Life Hacks oil on wood Medusa dry point print (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

From Neighbor’s Basement to Wayne State

Because Elena has Texas roots, moving to Austin was not too much of a stretch (aside from weather). As a cancer survivor, she spent some time at M.D. Anderson in Houston. She got the all-clear this past December.

Both grandparents on her mother’s side were Mexican Americans from Georgetown and San Antonio, hence the Rodriguez. The Marcozzi name stems from her father, a second-generation Italian American from Detroit. She is proud of both her Mexican and Italian heritage.

Elena (or Lenny, as her dad calls her) began her art career in her neighbor’s basement at age 7, along with other art interested neighborhood kids. Their instructor was Carmen Fernandez, who first introduced Elena to oil paints.  The basement classes lasted through middle school. In high school, she began taking off on her own, mainly working with oil pastels and watercolors.

Marcozzi created a series of oil pastel drawings of her dreams for her dream journal. Afterwards, she went to college and majored in painting, focusing primarily on oil. While working towards her BFA at Wayne State University in Detroit, she got to explore different types of art mediums.

Dumpster Above the Sea oil on paper Downriver watercolor (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

Influences and Inspirations

Japanese comic book art is one source of her visual inspiration. Others sources include video games, sci fi books, pen-and-ink drawings, movies, music, nature, and art history. One of Elena’s favorite artists is LA based Esao Andrews, who does surreal and fantastical paintings. She likes art works that are creepy. Dan Bolinski is one example of an artist who does creepy art. He is a Polish artist whose work is eerie, detailed, off-putting, but also beautiful.

Two of Esao Andrews surreal paintings, followed by Dan Bolinski’s creepy drawings. 

Elena’s favorite sculpture is from the Baroque Age. She really loves Apollo and Daphne by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, completed in 1625. The story behind the sculpture revolves around two Greek gods.

As revenge for an insult, Cupid shot Apollo with a golden arrow which caused him to fall madly in love with the nymph Daphne. Cupid also shot Daphne, but with a lead-tipped arrow, making her repel Apollo’s his romantic advances. The life size marble sculpture depicts Daphne escaping Apollo’s grasp by transforming into a laurel tree. A common symbol for Apollo is the laurel branch. Bernini’s sculpture is actually hidden inside one of Elena’s paintings. (credit for photos of statues below: Wikipedia)

Favorites

Marcozzi is proud of the oil paintings she produced while at Wayne State. As a painter, one of the first things she had to figure out was her paint pallet. She noticed that she leaned toward dark blues, bright oranges and reds, as well as their contrasting colors. She has fun exploring the possibilities of color.

Clockwise: Rhonda Olympia oil pastel on paper Not to Touch the Earth oil on paper The Ascension oil on paper Approaching Samara oil on paper (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

Making Art Personal

I want to depict these feelings through a narrative and symbolic representation that can translate my personal emotional experiences into something that others can relate to. From her Artist Statement.

Elena likes when her art pieces are personal. To make things more interesting, she uses symbols from art history and sprinkles them into her paintings. Elena’s art is multi-layered. It has personal meaning and also symbolizes something to other people.  She uses symbols that others can recognize.

Mural Experience

Last year Elena assisted mural artist Elton Monroy Durán with Alebrije murals he designed for Mezcal, a new Detroit restaurant and bar. Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical (fantasy/mythical) creatures. For this job, she worked on scaffolding and painted the ceiling above the bar on her back, much like Michelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel.

Tezcatlipoca is Guardian of the Mezcal. This Alebrije seems to be a cross between Pegasus and a Jaguar. Elena helped paint the murals above the bar, as well. (3 photos credited to Mezcal Bar and Kitchen in Detroit)

Felting as Fine Fiber Art

During the pandemic, Marcozzi discovered another passion —felting. According to Google, felting is the process of producing felt, a textile or fabric that is made by combining and compressing loose fibers or hair. With Needle Felting, that is accomplished by matting the wool with a special barbed or notched felting needle.

Kelsey Haase and  Elena serve as the only two felters at Imagine Art. Kelsey does more soft sculpture and Elena produces flat felt pieces as if they are canvases. Her goal is to elevate felting to fine art status as opposed to craft. Below are examples of Elena's felt paintings.

Clockwise: Mi Corazon, Uwen, Felt #1 and Jane of Bloomfield (photos credit: Elena R. Marcozzi)

AmeriCorps Artist-in-Residence

As an AmeriCorps artist-in-residence at Imagine Art, Elena Rodriguez Marcozzi has many duties. The first order of business when she arrived was to paint part of a mural, one of three plywood panels for St. Luke United Methodist Church. She joined artists Melissa Morris and Alyssa Simmel as contributors to the project. The cross is her creation. Without fanfare, the tryptic was installed on January 19. It was a joyous occasion, however cold.

Now that she’s settled in, Marcozzi does what comes naturally and what she excels at: sharing her extensive knowledge of painting, while inspiring adults with disabilities to become better artists. Elena’s caring, friendly and fun loving spirit have helped gain the trust of her clients, as well as the appreciation of all the AmeriCorps artists and staff at Imagine Art.

See more at Marcozzi Retrospect 2019-2023 along with Artist Statement.