Maribel Danta
631-909-1030
About Maribel Danta
About me.....



I go by "mom"...."Mari"...."Maribel"...."Ms. Danta"....an occasional "Mrs. Rodriguez"......but have also answered to "hey"...."yo"...."you".....and a few other choice utterings.....just in case, you never know.....

I am a New Yorker, more specifically a misplaced Borough girl who has found a home on the ends of Long Island. I traded pigeons for Seagulls, and a skyline for a shoreline......most importantly, because of my children, I traded my concrete streets for a grassy back yard. 

I have been in love with Art since I was 4 years old. It was the Flemish who first stole my heart, but then the Italians, the French and the Spaniards began to court.....Before I knew it I was graduating from NYU with a degree in Studio Arts/ Fine Arts, doing an apprenticeship with my NYU professor Photo Realist Artist John Kacere, while also attending the Arts Student League. 

In what seems like just a heart beat, I married and had 3 boys, William, Gabriel and Carlos. I went through my 30's in much the same stupor as many people I know went through the 1980's. Dealing with 3 little lives is hard enough, but soon it was clear that something was terribly wrong. My husband Carlos and I had to face our son Gabriel's Autism/ ADHD diagnosis. Suddenly our extraordinary goal was the ordinary, and our journey towards reconnecting our son with the world began. We grew in ways we just didn't expect. It's amazing what the love for your children, for your family, can do. And so, with new challenges come unexpected opportunities. I had an essay published in a book, Voices From the Spectrum, and a few articles published in TAP, an Autism Magazine.
 In my 30's I found my words........

They call me "mam"....now at 44, I've entered what I prefer to call my midlife retrospect, a period of reflection. I find the word “crisis” implies a life or death situation that I happen to feel is unwarranted at this time….So now, the focus is a return to my first love, painting, and finding symmetry with my acquired love, writing. I hope that somehow what I learned will provide a new perspective on life, an awareness of its quality, and the importance of those that embrace it, no matter how they are wired. 

I go by Artist. It has been a word many have used when describing me, yet, I have shied away from using myself. It has taken 20 years to put it on and own it. I’m breaking it in. Loving someone with real hurdles humbles. Being loved unconditionally strengthens…..acknowledging who you are innately is a liberating act of grace.