Art & Life with Marquette Mower

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquette Mower.

Marquette, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Photography started for me as a means to capture landscapes to paint from. As I photographed more I realized it was a way to connect with people and to serve them. As the years went on I went back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to run it as a business. After 7 years of waffling back and forth I decided to jump in with both feet and the business took off. It has been an exhilarating ride filled with the most amazing people.

I’ve loved having the chance to buoy up other creatives, my clients, and to spread goodness where I can. My story is at an interesting point now as I am pulling the business back so I can devote more time to my family, including a son with Optical Nerve Hypoplasia and developmental delays who needs more of his Momma. This business shut down is scheduled for at least a year or two, at which point we’ll evaluate and see if it will benefit the family to start back up or continue on as a recovering photography addict. In the meantime, though I’m excited to get to spend more time exploring this Rim Country, helping the Tuesdays Together group here grow to support more creatives, and to continue cheering on fellow creatives.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a wedding photographer and sidekick. I see my role not just to create beautiful images, but to buoy them, their marriage, and their family up. Photos have great power to strengthen marriages and families, so I wanted each couple I worked with to have photos of their true emotions and memories to look on through the years and to pass to their children and grandchildren. I grew up looking through my parents wedding album over and over again. Matching the real-life love story, I saw daily with the photos of their wedding was powerful. It gave me hope in marriage. It gave me a high standard to aim for, and an amazing example of patience, love, and true friendship. That is the kind of strength I want to provide my clients with!

Moving now towards putting the business on hold, I am so grateful that these images can endure and continue strengthening families. Moving forward I will be continuing photography just as a hobbyist working to document my own family and our lives, because those photos can be just as big of a strength.

Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
My biggest advice comes in the form of a quote. And while it is directed at women, I think we can substitute “creatives” in place of “women” and it still holds 100% true: “We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” ― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I am 100% for bettering ourselves and reaching for the stars, but I also know the incredible pressure we creatives put on ourselves. We constantly see what all the other creatives are doing and compare ourselves. It’s not healthy. The sooner you can be content with you, with your art, with your path, and with your pace in life, the sooner you will be able to find more joy and help others find joy.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
For the next few months my website will still be live:
www.marquettelaree.com

After the business shut down my Instagram may be the only place available for people to see my work (I’m still working on finding a new host for my blog, hopefully that will still be available, but I am unsure at this point):
https://www.instagram.com/marquettelaree/

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marquettelaree.com
• Email: marquette@marquettelaree.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marquettelaree/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarquetteLaReePhoto/

Image Credit:
Marquette LaRee

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