Mal Celani is a multimedia artist originally from Colorado, currently living their good life in Nebraska.
“I do not refer to my work or page as a brand - I am an artist, and choose not to run my art practice like a shop or business. Instead, I think of it as a way for me to build community, share my work, and find and share inspiration with like-minded people from across the world. I work diligently to honor my personal values through my art and my "artstagram", which means holding the line against sexism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and hate.”
Mal’s inspiration comes from a feeling of needing to keep her brain and hands busy. “I have always had a undercurrent of anxiety and do not spend a lot of time "relaxing". Instead, I channel my nervous energy into creating. I have tried most media, but my best (and favorite) are stained glass, illustration, and needlefelt. I have also been doing stand up comedy for about 9 years, which might also be considered an art, depending on who you ask. I love collecting art of all kinds, and am always inspired when I see other artists in all media going in new directions or coming up with new ideas.”
Being surrounded by art her entire life. Her father is an artist and has spent their life around his drawing and painting, as well as both of her parents always having an avid appreciation of art, museum and gallery visits. And those continue to be some of their favorite family pastimes.
Mal’s husband is a ceramicist, and lives his life full-time as a working artist. “So, art is all around me, unavoidably, and has naturally been something I have always pursued.”
A lot of her early illustration work took the form of posters and album covers for stand up comedy shows and comedians.
Sam Tallent (https://www.samtallent.com/; specifically his tour merch)
and David Venhuizen (http://www.davidvenhuizen.com/bio.html, for his album recording poster of Barn Door Open).
Currently holding a full time job, finishing up a PhD program and her side gig of stand-up performing, Mal is definitely a busy person. All that said, art is their practice. “I try not to think too far ahead so I can only share what might come in the next half year or so. I need to invest in some new machines for my glass work, which means I need to sell some work, which also means I need to design it, which means I need to dream it up.... It's kind of like the reverse of "If you give a mouse a cookie...". The things I know for sure are that I plan to continue on my current deep-dive into stained glass and pattern creation, and that I will maintain my stance that art is for everyone, and try to build a solid feeling of community around that via my instagram.”
Mal's felt and glasswork have really been pushed on her instagram feed and from her home, but was also more than happy to join in the Lincoln Arts Festival in the summer of 2021.