Nelson
Marci Nelson - Fine Artist
Marci Nelson grew up and resides in central MA; however, she spent most of her childhood at Boston Children’s Hospital receiving treatment for Congenital Rubella Syndrome. While pregnant with Marci, her mother became infected with the Rubella virus in her third trimester, causing debilitating birth defects in Marci’s left hip, leg and foot that required major orthopedic surgeries and lengthy, painful traction therapy. However, throughout her medical ordeals, art was at the center of her world. She thought that by drawing, coloring and painting pictures of Jesus, angels and saints, she could become a normal little girl who could walk and play like other children.
By the time she started high school, with the help of orthotic and prosthetic devices, she was finally able to walk unassisted. There she was blessed with a dedicated art teacher, who introduced her to the world of fine art and allowed her to spend every spare minute in the art room, her safe space, learning as much as she could about various mediums, techniques, art styles and subjects.
She spent the first part of her post-secondary education as an art major at UMass Dartmouth, where she found that the restrictive curriculum took the joy out of creativity, so she decided to move to Boston and attend the Museum School of Fine Arts part-time to figure out what to do with her talent. During that time she met and fell in love with a charming, handsome photographer/photography instructor from Galicia, Spain who changed the course of her life.
During her twenties, she lived the Bohemian lifestyle in Spain and Europe, drawing, painting, learning other languages, spending time with political activists, writers, poets, other artists and musicians. Upon her return to the U.S., it was time to get serious about life, so Marci moved to South Florida and used her new-found language skills to pursue an education and career in international business, eventually earning an International MBA and becoming a Financial Services manager for GE Healthcare, Latin America.
In 2000, Marci decided to make a career and residence change, teaching English as a Second Language at her high school alma mater from where she recently retired to return to her love of art, especially watercolor.
Since her return to New England, Marci obtained a Masters Degree in Education while participating in workshops at the Worcester Art Museum, where she has exhibited her watercolor paintings. Her work has also been on display at various restaurant and wine-tasting venues but her favorite venue is the outdoor fine arts & crafts show/festival circuit, where she loves to talk about her art and connect with attendees and other artists.