It’s Gonna Be Maisie
In 2020, Maisie Husman, who had never made art before, started making art.
She did it on a whim. She was a single mother in an abusive relationship and her first art supplies were borrowed from her children. They were the sort of supplies that were presumably used for finger painting and coloring inside the lines.
“I was never the creative kid,” she said. “It was just something that was a release for me, like a journal in a way.”
Something happened to Husman when she started making art. She couldn’t stop.
“I discovered this talent I didn’t know I had,” she said, “and then I kind of just kept practicing. I just kind of chased it.”
The man in her life back then was the opposite of supportive, Husman said.
“My partner at that time wasn’t happy that I’d found something to give me light,” she said.
In a rage, her boyfriend destroyed the art she’d created up to that point. She’d been unable to muster the courage to leave him before that, but she found it when her art was attacked.
“My art gave me purpose,” Husman said. “It gave me power. It gave me my power back. And it was like, you know, ‘I’ve endured so much with you, but you’re not gonna treat my art like that.'”
Even though her boyfriend had done his worst in a crusade to end the art’s existence (and, perhaps, to end Husman’s aspirations), Husman didn’t give up on either.
She took one damaged painting and repaired it as one might repair a torn pair of pants.
“My painting ripped and I literally took yarn and I stitched it,” she said.
She called it “Organized Chaos” and sold it four months later for $900.
The stitching technique became a permanent part of Husman’s art process.
Five years have passed since Husman, who goes by the nom de brush of Mae Z, found inspiration in her kids’ art supplies. And she is preparing to open her own gallery along and within the Broadway Arts District.
Her closest neighbor will be Terry Ratliff, perhaps Fort Wayne’s best-known fine artist and one of its most successful.
Husman will also be curating some of the décor at a nearby cocktail lounge and restaurant about which little is known.
It is to be called The Abstract and it is going into the space formerly occupied by The Phoenix and the Three Rivers Food Coop (not to mention, Astra Lounge, for an extremely short period).
It is described in an employment ad seeking a bartender this way…
“The Abstract is set to be Fort Wayne’s newest downtown destination. The Abstract will be an upscale bar and event space located in the heart of Fort Wayne’s arts district. We offer an intimate, artistic dining experience that combines high-quality food with exceptional service. Our menu focuses on gourmet dishes, small plates, and desserts, all crafted to complement our signature cocktail menu.”
Husman said her gallery should open in late April and The Abstract should open in early May.
Being an artist is frustrating at times, Husman said, but being an artist means being somewhat immune to frustration.
“Once you unlock that creativity….it’s just a hunger,” she said. “You can’t stop doing it. You lose a lot of sleep because you’ve got to get that thing.”
Being an artist has given Husman a lot of self-confidence.
“One thing that I say all the time is, ‘It’s okay to take up space,'” she said. “I’m going to take up as much space as I want. I remind myself of that, and I remind other people of that too. You are allowed to walk into a room and take up space. You are allowed to just be yourself.
