creators
My name is Mariska Nicholson and The Portrait Assignment was conceived in my head in the middle of the night about eight months ago.
In June of 2007 I accepted an offer to house sit for a friend for two months. I was married at the time and we had been in marriage counseling for two and a half years. Two months of house sitting was a way for me to remove myself temporarily, decompress and make some decisions about my future. I began to write, or should I say writing began to happen to me. I woke every morning and went to my computer and thoughts just poured out of me. I began to realize through my writing how stuck I was, how I had been living with my eyes shut tight, not willing or even able to face my reality or, the reality. I began to speak my truth. It was powerful and liberating and yes, very scary.
As the sequence goes I began to speak my truths aloud to friends and family. I was honest and unedited and they were amazed at how real I had become. I had people say to me that I was inspiring because I wanted to talk about things that some may perceive as uncomfortable or inappropriate. I was raised to, “not let the neighbors know”. Since I was a child that concept has knocked me out of balance. How can we clean up a mess if we don’t even recognize its presence? I began to understand the concept of the committee in my head with all their many voices, oh and by the way, none of them my friend. I began to understand how to operate from my heart space, how to be vulnerable and open. The phoenix process was alive in me. My new ability and craving really to explore all that is me was something I wanted others to experience. The Portrait Assignment was born.
Howdie, my name is Karrie Lee. I met Mariska at a friend’s birthday party. I was just in awe by her near presence and energy. She started discussing her interest in publishing and her wonderful ideas for a couple of book projects, including The Portrait Assignment. It was a homerun. My first job out of school was working for a small book publisher. She had the vision, and I had the experience. I walked out of there delighted with all the possibilities for this project.
It took some time for our paths to cross again, but when they did I jokingly asked, "what took you so long"! . At that moment the adventure started and has been a huge part of my life, my passion and my dreams. I go forward each day thanking fate for allowing this partnership to take shape.