Meet the artist: Maria Schmuck

Maria Schmuck is a visual artist - and she is the artist behind our limited art edition. Bringing together mixed media, mainly acrylic, ink and spray paint, she manages to capture movement from an interplay of restraint, devotion and faith in colour. She told us what drives her, what role sustainability and water play in her art and what Peter Pan has to do with her creative process.

For our Limited Art Edition, you painted 1,000 of our Shampoo & Shower Bars, giving the subject of water protection a visual voice. What power does art have for you?

For me, art is an alternative way of perceiving. It is the visualization of energy, the revealing of impressions of the world on the artist and the very individual interpretation of his or her reality. I can incorporate all of this into my artwork. It opens up a field of self-awareness. It gives the opportunity to expand new perspectives and the relationship to oneself.

For World Water Day we accompanied you in your creative process. What makes this phase so special for you?

It is a moment of absolute timelessness. Every time I feel weightless and completely under the spell of my color games. The paradox is suddenly felt in a playful way, like in an imaginative dream – comparable to the world of Peter Pan.

What is sustainability for you?

I am very grateful to live as a human on this beautiful planet with all the inspiring and adventurous diversity. The least I can do is treat what I love with respect. But whoever just gives will eventually get tired. And the earth has been doing this for a long time. We should therefore look at the issue of sustainability with loving circumspection. Away from the “must” and pointing finger point of view towards a balanced relationship between us and the planet.

And how important is water as a resource for you?

Since waste only germinates from a careless abundance, the resource water is also a symbol for me and us to reflect on what we really need. Sustainability and our use of water result in a view of our own well-being.

Your works would be without water...

…not existent. Water is essential for my work! It was only through fluid acrylic painting that I found my confident way into art. Away from rigid ideas, something new is possible at every moment. The organic movement of the water becomes permanently visible through the pigments and allows me to play with chance and intuitive devotion through its flowing movement. At every moment there are various decision options.

If you could change one thing in the world overnight, what would it be?

The thought away from I and towards we - without the fear of having to lose yourself in the process.