Making Art

A memoir by poet Mary Julia Klimenko, who spent four decades as sculptor Manuel Neri's principal model, muse, and collaborator. This book is Number 2 in the Divers Collection. "Mary Julia Klimenko has lived life in multiple layers, the narrative recounted by others and most often, their perception of her in relation to the artist Manuel Neri. She has been seen as the exotic model, poet, muse, the passionate and jealous lover, but rarely as a collaborator. In this book, we are invited into her life and into the working studio where she began the journey from impressionable young woman longing for a larger life, to her involvement in the excitement and frustrations of living a life centered in the arts. This is the true story of Mary Julia finding her own voice as she relates a unique account of the collaboration that developed in the crucible of the studio. Often touching, always straightforward, sometimes hilarious, we follow the trajectory from depressed and isolated young wife to the fully accomplished, published poet and psychotherapist. The story is unusual to the artist/model canon in that the instinct in each, inspired the other. We discover that Manuel Neri was as much her muse as she was his." Kate Flores, Artist