Mara are the intuitive waters that source all life.
Tuli are the flames that forge, protect, and illuminate.
Mara is based on the word for “sea” in both my ancestral Slavic heritage and the Spanish language, which I study in romance. This half of my artist name is a deep connection to the divine feminine that lives through my maternal lineage. Mara are the intuitive waters that source all life.
Tuli is a Finnish word for “fire”. This half of my name honors the divine masculine of my paternal ancestors and embraces my role as a sacred firekeeper in these dark times. Tuli are the flames that forge, protect, and illuminate.
This symbolic union of opposites helps me embody the teachings of the Yin and Yang. Like all natural systems, I am constantly seeking equilibrium. Searching for delicate balance in the ever-shifting territory between extremes. And then, beyond elemental duality is a steamy third part: powerful spirit energy that fuels my creative and design practices.
You, oh eternal Trinity, are a deep Sea.
The deeper I enter, the more I find.
And the more I find, the more I seek.
— Saint Catherine of Siena
Personal
Practice
Photo by Owen Schuh
Ana Peltz
After earning degrees in Graphic Design and Spanish Language & Culture from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I started my career as an activist print designer at Social Impact Studios in Philadelphia. In my first professional decade, I cranked out materials for public interest campaigns all over the country; managed a roster of special projects, learned how to tell stories; cemented my commitment to social justice, learned to practice Reiki, and figured out how to balance my persistent attention to detail with budgets, deadlines, and schedules.
My interests and skills led me into the world of studio art and public events. For the next six years, I organized the annual Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. In this role, I delighted in opening the doors of hundreds of professional artists’ studios for everyone from industry professionals to pedestrians. This experience schooled me in the particulars of fine art, fundraising, civic engagement, the nature of subjectivity, a new urbanism, studio practice, the shortcomings of capitalism, and why artists really matter in life.
Along the way, I committed to a lifelong partnership with Alex Peltz and we welcomed two incredible children into our lives. Most notable of my creative endeavors is motherhood, which has cured me of a tendency toward perfectionism and realigned my focus to personal and collective wellbeing. I have spent recent years with my husband in our design studio, looking through kaleidoscopes with the children, listening to the forest, volunteering in my community, studying Feng Shui, playing with ink, and dabbling in plant medicine.
As an activist, a pacifist, and a naturalist, I am sobered by the trauma we are inflicting on each other and the Earth. I feel a deep calling to respond with my own small offerings of joy, healing, creativity, and gratitude. I have re-oriented my life toward celestial and terrestrial rhythms. I draw strength from the natural world and pluralistic spirituality. I find comfort in remembering our humble place in the circle of all living beings. And while I honor the deep wisdom of our ancestors and sacred traditions, I also believe the best of what humans can do is yet to come.
Creative Community
I am fortunate to live and work in the forests of North Central Vermont, which are unceded Abenaki Homelands.
I am also blessed to be part of a caring and inspiring cohort, some of whom are listed here.
Jeff Bos, Wander Wild
Jeff is a Co-Founder of Wander Wild. Through his ReWilding Leadership Programs, he invites participants into a deeper relationship with themselves and nature, unlocking deep intuitive and instinctual ways of knowing, and introduces practices of self-discovery that aim to heal the great divides of our times – between our small sense of self and our higher potential Self, self & other, and self and nature.
Julia Blaukopf, Fotografica
Julia is a photographer, artist and designer. She focuses on visual storytelling through photographs and mixed media works. Julia the founder of Fotografica, an art and design firm devoted to designing custom photo-based installations with tiles, wallpaper, window panels, and more.
Melissa Brough, Energetic Literacy Project
Melissa supports people of all backgrounds on their journeys of coming back into their bodies and to remember and benefit from their own innate, embodied wisdom. She is the founder of the Energetic Literacy Project, which teaches and advocates for moving beyond emotional intelligence into energetic intelligence. She teaches Ishtara, and is the steward of Holden House, an off-the-radar retreat and residency space in Vermont.
Leif Goldberg, Drawing Outside the Lines
Leif is an animation instructor for middle and high school aged students at Helen Day Art Center (The Current), River Arts and California Summer School for the Arts, as well as at Johnson State College (NVU) and Burlington College. Leif facilitates inclusive art classes for seniors, adults with disabilities and youth. He hosts art classes at his Vermont homestead. Leif’s own art includes drawing-based silkscreen prints, paintings, films, sound and a personal journal/sketchbook.
Candace Jensen, In Situ Polyculture Commons
Candace is cofounder and Creative Director of In Situ Polyculture Commons, an art residency and ecology catalyst dedicated to fostering resilience, creative community, and regenerative culture in Westminster, VT. She also proudly serves as the Letterpress and Book Arts Director for the Ruth Stone House, in Goshen VT, and Art Editor and administrative collaborator for its independent poetry & art quarterly, Iterant Mag. Her art portfolio can be visited at candacejensen.com.
Alex Peltz, Peltz Creative
Alex is a creative director, graphic designer and communication strategist. Alex has worked for over 20 years to conceptualize and execute communication initiatives that reach audiences through effective visuals and messages. He helps businesses, organizations, and institutions connect their overall strategy to communication tactics that achieve results and elevate cultural dialogue. Alex worked for ten years at Social Impact Studios (formerly Design for Social Impact) before starting his own design firm.
Erin Rosenthal, Goldenrose Gardens
Erin began her journey with medicinal plants in 2007 when she worked on an organic veggie farm and learned that the weeds were not only edible, but delicious and nutritious as well! Since then, she has been creating herbal formulas for her family and community. Her work is informed by years of self study, her clinical internship at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, numerous friends, and listening deeply to Nature and Spirit.
Natalya Zahn, Illustrator
Natalya was raised in the wilds of the green mountain state; she is a RISD alum; fan of spontaneous travel, natural history museums, candy stores and rural livestock shows. Animals are her jam and she spends inordinate amounts of time seeking them out (live or not so alive) to study and draw.