Marie LeTourneau

Ancestry and Childhood:

    First, please forgive any typos, this program I use doesn't have a spell checker, and while I am pretty good at catching most mistakes myself, I still get a brain cramp every now and again when it comes to spelling.

   I was born Marie Ann Girardi (named after my grandmother) Dec. 15, 1969 in Queens Village, New York.   I'm a fifth generation New Yorker on my mom's side, and a fourth gen. on my dad's.   Interestingly, part of my family has been living in this country since the late 1600's.   Some of my ancestors were farmers on both sides of the family (Italy and Missouri). I remember my great grandfather Girardi (who spoke very little english and scared the beejeebees out of me) having a huge garden that took up his entire yard. He grew everything from figs, to grapes, to herbs, and of course, totatoes. My family even made their own wine constantly, and as a child I was allowed to sample it during meals becasue that's what they did in Italy (Phewww! Yuck! Didn't care for it!) Other family members were artisans, incuding furniture makers in VT and business owners in the garment district in NYC. They were artists, actors and musicians (all LA and NY).   For a time, my grandfather Sharp was an animation artist for Walt Disney, a commercial artist for many big name companies, and as a kid he even made appearances on the "Little Rascals" television show through the help of his neighbor, famed actress Gloria Swanson (and no, sorry, he wasn't one of the famous kids like Spanky or anything!)   Quickly, I just want to say that I think of these people often - some of them I knew, most I did not. I've seen their pictures and heard the stories of their lives. I silently honor them because they are a part of me, their story is my story and my kids story....they have shaped my life in ways they will never know.   Honor those who went before you and give thanks to them.

Okay, so those were some of my relatives.   Now where was I? I think I was just born....I don't remember much after that, just vague images....until about age 4. By the age of 4, I had fallen in love with drawing, even though I wasn't very good at it. I remember struggling to decide if I was left or right handed (turns out I'm a lefty!) Favorite subject in kindergarten was painting.   My teacher would only allow us to use two colors - always two that didn't match - like purple and green, or pink and orange! I didn't like that at all - plus, she was just plain mean. Can you imagine a mean kindergarten teacher? Honestly........Anywho, I disliked naptime in class because I was too curious ) I never took a nap once in school - ever. I loved catching daddy long-legs in little glass jars and feeding them to my dad's lizard "Capital H" (I named him after a Sesame Street cartoon) I was a total tomboy - climbing trees, playing 'cowboys and indians' (that's what we called it back then - even had my own cowboy hat and holster) Loved playing in the mud with the neighborhood boys (we were only girls on our block.)   My family moved to Long Island when I was 5. I grew up in Babylon Village on the Great South Bay.   By the age of 8, I began writing and illustrating my own comic strips and stories just for fun, making little books out of paper and staples. I loved puppetry, working with clay, and anything that had to do with art. I had the best art teacher in the world in elementary school - Ms. Celeste Topazio - she inspired me at a very young age and we are friends to this day!

High School & College:

     I graduated from Babylon Jr-Sr High in 1987, taking every art studio class available. Again, I had two great influences there - Alfred Freitag, and Donald Bartsch (we still keep in touch!)   I did set design for the drama club, and was voted 'Most Artistic' by my classmates. I played first base for the Babylon Softball Team. I enjoyed homecoming and floatmaking (my class won best float every year!) In the summer, my friends and I would practically live at the beach, boogie board, swim, fish, and just hang out.   In 1989, I began attending New College at Hofstra University. I studied fine art, art history, writing, and drama.   It took me 11 years to get my degree.

Career:

     For a long time I was a part-time college student, caring for two babies, and working (very little) as a freelance artist. I began designing book covers, greeting cards, and other random things. I worked in an art studio designing large scale props and scenery for parties and corporate events.   I kept writing and doing illustrations as a serious "hobby".   I submitted work to every known publisher in the free world (no takers) and eventually would sign with Peggy Tierney at Tanglewood Press.   I illustrated my very first book with Tanglewood entitled "Is Worry Worrying You?" (2005) written by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz.   My own book, "Mice" soon followed.

Family:

My husband and I have two children, and three dogs.   We currently reside in New York.   I have one sibling - an older sister, Michelle (okay, okay, we're only 11 months apart!) My family always called us "Irish Twins" because we were both born in the same year (Jan-Dec). I come from an extremely close and very fun-loving family - ITALIAN AND IRISH - and I am extremely proud of my heritage on both sides.   My dad's side is Italian, and there are over 55 of us (and growing like crazy) whenever we get together - which is ALL the time, for ANY or NO reason at all!) I We eat, talk, debate, laugh, eat, talk, debate....you get the idea. My mom's side is Irish, and are a smaller, but no less spunky group - when we get together we eat, talk, debate, laugh....pretty much the same deal! They have always supported my art, I love them with all of my heart. I don't know what I would do without them!

Influences:

     I loved books and cartoons as a kid. My mom read to me all the time, and I watched a lot of TV (I mean A LOT). I can now see a very clear correlation between how my art and writing has progressed, and the books, authors, cartoons, movies, and TV shows I loved as a child. In no particular order: Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Chuck Jones, Shel Silverstein, Charles Shultz, Ludwig Bemelmans, Richard Scarry, and A.A. Milne. I remember being totally enchanted by "Where the Wild Things Are" (Maurice Sendak) it scared me in a good way, and I still own a copy of it.   Sesame Street had fun cartoon shorts when I was a kid. Jim Henson (The Muppet Show). The Electric Company, Disney, Bugs Bunny, Tim Burton. "The Triplets of Bellville" is a riot (and sort of weird)   I love "Finding Nemo" for it's humor and outstanding graphics. My favorite book is "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole.   Fine art influences: Mary Cassatt, Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Calder, Klee, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Jackson Pollack, Nicholas Maravell, Alex Katz, Andy Warhol, and many of the old French posters.

Music:

     There's a lot: Nora Jones, Beatles, Johnny Cash, Bruce, The Band, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Dr. John, Neil Diamond, Ray LaMontagne, Jack Johnson, Prince, Eric Clapton, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, Sarah McClachlan, My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, Billy Joel, Cowboy Junkies, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Crash Test Dummies, Bright Eyes, Frank Sinatra, Bee Gee's, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall & Oates, Barry White, INXS, Bob Marley. I love (and own) the "Lost in Translation", "Northern Exposure", and "French Kiss" sountracks.   I'm always open to new music and I'm an American Idol junkie!   Newly acquired CD's: LOVE, The Beatles. Endless Highway, The Music of The Band (compilation of artists covering Band songs) Walk The Line, Movie Soundtrack. Chrome Dreams, Neil Young. Magic, Bruce Springsteen. Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm.

Hobbies:

      Sailing, the beach (anything to do with the water), photography, gardening/landscape design, reading, cooking, drawing and painting

TV Shows:

     The Office (the best sitcom since Seinfeld, I think) American Idol, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Dirty Jobs, Old Christine, Ace of Cakes, M*A*S*H reruns, Jeopardy, The Soprano's (sad it ended) and Project Runway.   I also love the History channel and Food Network.

Random Useless Facts:

I love dogs, and would have a whole pack if I could!
I dislike wearing socks
I love flip-flops
I love (I mean LOVE) coffee
I secretly wish I could play the guitar & piano
I don't look good in hats
I love Mexican food
I can't live without chocolate
My favorite muppet is 'Animal'
I kick butt in Star Wars Trivia
I am an excellent rollerblader
I love Jeopardy
I love the ocean and the beach (I had better, since I live on an island!)
Favorite icecream: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie
I LOVE Halloween!!!!!
Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic strip ever
I don't wear glasses or contacts
I am a rollercoaster fanatic (the bigger the better!)
I still keep in touch with friends as far back as 1st grade
I would like to open a little bookshop one day
I love to travel
I dislike housework in general (who doesn't?)
Pottery was one of my favorite classes in college
I love ice hockey (Go Rangers), but don't care for football