About the Artist: Mariama. I am a self-taught, self-representing artist, living in Maryland, USA. I was born and raised in Tchintabaraden, Niger, West Africa. I am a Tuareg.

Mariama started painting after a stroke in 2000, at the age of 27. It was due to a blood clot in her brain that made her lose her speech and feeling in her arm for three days. After she recovered, she started to make jewelry--a lot of it. Then she bought a sewing machine. She made outfits and she started sketching. Her ideas seemed unstoppable. Her mother-in-law was an artist. She saw Mariama’s constant creativity, so she gave her a water color package. Now Mariama paints every day. She also writes stories and poems. She’s always painting, writing, or sketching. She had never done this before the stroke. It’s like her mind is totally different. Please know she is doing fine now. We just thought that the collectors of her art should know her story. Thank you.

My artwork is mostly from my mind rather than a copy of something I see. It is a place where I can paint anything that I want in a free style. It’s my world without boundaries or limits, where happiness, colors, pleasure, and mystery meet. I like it here.