My Safe Haven

Once homeless, Mary Stackiewicz found success through art

Mary Stackiewicz is a former youth participant and currently a senior artist for Youth Spirit Artworks (YSA). Her life experienced a total transformation, from desperate homelessness to having a stable job doing what she likes. She went through many psychological struggles throughout the years. Her courage in overcoming all the unfairness and grief in her life make her a wonderful match for YSA. Her story and belief make us firm the belief that Art Saves Lives.

Before YSA: Homelessness and helplessness

Mary was struggling with homelessness from 2012 to 2017. “My aunt died of cancer, and followed by that, I got kicked out by the landlord. Suddenly I got nothing in my life.” Being homeless and helpless, art became a tool for her to grieve

What can I do? How will I feed myself?? These questions kept popping up in her head. Having no ways to make a proper living, she chose to return to art, the only subject in which she got straight As in school and always devoted her love and passion into. And so, there was Mary at MacArthur Park by the street corner, with her belief and love, selling her art.

Street Artist=Freedom and Success?

Speaking of the street artists, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Freedom? Love? Success? For most of the street artists, compared with the rarity of passion and freedom, the cruelty of life is a looming presence as they try to earn a living through their dreams.

Similarly, Mary’s life as a street artist was very hard and unstable. For five years, she did her best to sell her art on the corner of MacArthur Park. “My business usually runs slow, which I can sell no more than 5 paintings. This is far from enough for my meal all day,” she said. “Sometimes, people curse at me while I was asking them whether they are interested in my painting and sometimes I need to cut my price a lot in order to get the money.” She was relying on herself while only in her early 20s

With YSA: A place for me to calm down and just do art.

Her luck turned in December of 2014. “I met my brother and sisters during the street sales and they decided to treat me to the theater. “ At the movie theater, she saw Brandon Harris, another YSA participant who was working part-time there. “He recommended me YSA and told me it is just a good place to go.” Always fiercely devoted to art, she immediately took the name YSA to mind and dropped by afterwards.

“When I first came to YSA another Brandon, Brandon Pritzkat showed me around the space and told me what it’s about in YSA. After that, I became a student at YSA to practice painting. Having finished different sections of art training, I graduated on August 10th, 2018.”

Mary’s voice is filled with passion and gratefulness as she spoke of her life at YSA.

“To me, YSA is like a safe haven. YSA is a place for you to grow to be a better person and be more professional without much worries. Whenever how desperate you get in life, YSA will always provide you with a safe place for you to calm down and just do art.”

She feels peace and respect thanks to YSA. At YSA, she no longer needs to worry about being cursed at by unknown customers, or the small amount of sales sales that made it difficult to buy a meal. In YSA, she just needs to know art, do art and naturally earn money out of her paintings. Life could never be that simple and peaceful for her. If she gets hungry and upset with her life, there is always food and staff at YSA, which she could tame her hunger and talk to the staff she trusts. To Mary, YSA is the place that provides her with security.

Unforgettable memories: Field Trip to Oakland Museum

In the three years she has been with YSA, the field trip she went on with other youth in 2017 to the Oakland Museum of California is one of the most unforgettable.

“It was the museum with really cool shoes on display. From the very first shoe to the latest ones. It showed how time had pass and how things changed. Really reminds me of my life in YSA. How I transformed from the 2014 to 2015, from a street artist to be included as one staff member of YSA. This reminds me of all the up and downs experienced in life.”

Thinking back, she still felt grateful: “If it wasn’t YSA, I will already be somewhere dealing with drugs.”

Artist career : Micro-creative arts lover

In terms of the type of art she is interested in making, she prefers abstract art and micro creative art. When it comes to micro creative art, she added: “I really appreciate how they make small thing into big art. Like convert trash cigarettes to make big portrait.”

Moving on, she added, “My favorite painting in YSA is the one Brandon Harris gave to me as a birthday gift. It is a portrait of him. He prototyped the painting while I colored the whole painting. I really like it. It makes me feel like everything was just as good as when it starts. Make me happy that you meet Brandon and meet YSA.”

“He means a lot to me. He is like my brother. It was he who introduced me to YSA and bought me stuff while I am pregnant.”

“And we have an agreement that if I sell the painting, I will give him half of the sales.”

Future plans: Open my own gallery like YSA

“When I first came to YSA, it was, Brandon Pritzkat, the senior artist then, who introduced me around the space. Now I’m the one who is doing the same thing as he was doing back then. In the future, I want to do the same thing as YSA does, I want to run my own gallery, own a place like YSA, being able to save people from suffering.’

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