As a working artist and lifelong Christian Scientist, DEANNA MARSH has found countless opportunities to bring her spiritual perspective intimately into the creative process. The parents of two adolescent daughters, Deanna and her husband, Jonathan, live in Auburn, California, a small town nestled in the Sierra foothills. Recently, I talked with Deanna about the impact her spiritual perspective has had on her life and the role that gender does—or doesn't—play in her approach to art. We began our conversation with my question on that very topic: gender.
MARILYN JONES: Deanna, you've been in the business world as well as the art world ever since you graduated from college and then earned your BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Has being a woman ever become an issue in either environment?
DEANNA MARSH: Well, only one time actually, while I was working as an intern during college, at one of my first professional design experiences. I was young and naive, and during a business meeting, a colleague next to me leaned over and whispered horrible, lewd remarks to me. He caught me completely off guard. I felt trapped, and because of the meeting, I couldn't do or say anything. But deep inside, I knew his behavior was wrong.
