Maret Hensick's style is reflective of her travels and rich life experiences. She was raised in Europe, but later returned to the States for college and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Working as a commercial artist for two years in Germany, Maret once again returned to the States and there she was introduced to print making in the studio of Leo Lasansky and began her ongoing career as a fine artist – a career which she continues to develop concurrently with her licensed design work.
Growing up abroad made both her and her sisters acutely visual. "When you don't speak the language, you end up paying close attention to the world around you so you can navigate your way through it. We started to notice the grey building, the blue curtains, a row of red geraniums or other details that signaled where you had to go. Each country had its own thoroughly distinct character as well, which offered a visual feast of food, dress, architecture and landscape. Along with this, our parents were determined to have us see every museum, cathedral, castle and ruin–sensory overload from age 9 up."
Coupled with this visual education, a strange loneliness emerged– a result of moving constantly. Maret felt a great need to express herself; to narrow down what she saw into simple forms, though often within complex or detailed venues. She also wrote and mixed the two, which is still a hallmark of her work. "My paintings are narratives of the private discourse I have with myself. Almost all of my paintings have titles or written lines that explain the thought process or inspiration."
At this point in her life, Maret is stepping away a little from the commercial side of her work to concentrate on paintings once more: exploring art in a new way, still with a running internal narrative, looking for clues, learning again the language of the world around her. "I feel incredibly lucky that my husband, who is also a painter, and I have been able to raise our son with art all around him while watching both his parents work hard at something they love."
