North Georgia Arts Guild Reconstituting Frameworks: The Far Away Worlds of Maria Castano
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By Susan Brewer
he work you see here is by artist Maria Castano, the newest member of the North Georgia Arts Guild. Her visual language is striking and richly detailed, otherworldly—exotic, like the life of Marco Polo, the Viennese merchant who trekked from Italy to the Middle East to China and back again in the 13th century. Maria’s works are inhabited by Middle Eastern and Oriental influences. Much like Marco Polo, Maria has traveled around the world to benefit her work. Until recently, home was in Vermont. From the north eastern United States, she has traveled around North America and further, to New Zealand, Australia, Asia, and Europe for art training, drawn by inspiration and fancy. Maria grew up in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in a small town south of Boston called Brockton. Her father was a leather cutter there in what was the shoe capital of the world. There were about a hundred manufacturing outfits in town and as a cutter he was on-call to all. His role represented
12 GML - February 2021
