Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes is a talented designer of sorts. She is kind of in her own division of graphic design because she plays by her own rules and people respect and love that about her. She is recognizably different in all of the works that she has done. I loved her style because she followed her passions and allowed herself to be guided by just that. She isn’t interested in riches and wealth, she just wants to be brilliant at what she does and let her art speak for itself. She wants her art to touch people.

Allowing oneself to let go and let the art just flow through is a really difficult task. I dabble in just letting my pen flow on the paper and it usually turns out way better than I had ever expected. A lot of artists have trouble doing that because they pay such close attention to detail and Marian managed to accomplish both aspects of that in her work. She has very detailed design, yet her designs were all just passion placed onto paper. At one point in the interview, she mentioned that she was having trouble coming up with designs and then it hit her that she has to draw things close to the heart; things about love.

I find when I draw things that I am more passionate about, I can put forth my best effort and really get down and deep into it. This is not just because of my ADHD, but because as an artist the true talent that lies underneath can really surface when I am one hundred percent into what I am doing. I think I speak for all creative minds when I say that doing something that captures your attention and speaks to you on a more personal level can truly drag something so magnificent and so incredible out of you. Art is literally the expression of ones emotions or thoughts so how could art get any better when it’s derived from the deepest parts of your soul, heart, and mind. 

I deeply respect her choice to step away from everything she built so that she could find her voice in her art again. It was a bold move and it gives me great hope and great joy and reminds me that if you really love something, you will thrive no matter what. You just have to chase it down and pursue it, and sometimes you might have to give up all you have to find yourself again. The best part about that though, is that you will always find yourself in a better and brighter light.