Maquenda

Who Am I?

My name is Meike Hakkaart, also known as Maquenda/ArtofMaquenda online. a visionary artist, drawn to the 'wild, weird and wonderful' aspects of life. I create healing art from the Shadow. Strong emotions lead me to create.

 As of summer 2017 I am a graduate of Art College and am now left staring into the (sometimes terrifying) profundity that is my future.

College was a very difficult time for me as an artist. At the same time as I began to discover the silhouette of who I am as an artist and to begin pursuing my own passions, I was reprimanded for them. I have always had a fascination with the aspects of life that are often divorced from it; death, decay, and a return to entropy.

I was told my visions and ideas were "kitsch", unoriginal, and ultimately not worth pursuing. My heart was broken time and time again. But if there is something that has always drawn me to the act of creation, it was the honesty of emotion that could be perfectly preserved in art. You could make palpable intent, love, hate, an entire thought, or the chaotic spill of emotion. I wanted to create works of art that spoke to people, from my heart to theirs. 

Ironically at the same time as I struggled with my place in art school, it was during those four years that I truly found this connection to death as being definitive to who I am not only as an artist but also as a person. In my last year of school I lost my beloved dog, who grew up with me and shared 15 years of my life. This heartbreak ultimately galvanized my belief in what I wanted to create and became the center of my final class thesis, the thesis by which I would earn my diploma.

All of this is ultimately what brings me to Patreon. I am so honored to live in a time when creatives can connect directly with the communities of people who share their passion and support their ability to pursue those passions! 

What This Patreon is For

My hope is that this Patreon gives me a little extra time each month to work on my own ideas. I would love to chase these visions and more than that, to be able to share them with you all. I know so many artists who work day jobs, who say how they wish they had more time to create for themselves but just never seem to get to a place where they can. 

While I accept that I will likely have to take outside work to support myself, ultimately, like every artist, it would be a dream come true to create what I am most passionate about.

This patreon is PWYW (pay what you want) and will be considered mainly as a kind of tip jar

I will use this Patreon to share WIP's, process photos, and hopefully much more with you and, most importantly, to thank you for your belief and support!