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ABOUT
DEBRA MARSHALL

ARTISTIC JOURNEY OVERVIEW

I was drawn to art at an early age and always believed it would remain part of my life. I began college as a fine arts major but soon became fascinated by the social and psychological forces that shape people—what inspires individuals and groups, and how life influences us. That interest led me into marketing, where I spent forty years in senior roles managing brand strategy for companies in health, wellness, sports, and recreation.


In 2010, that changed. I felt such a strong pull back to art that I could no longer ignore it. While my understanding of human behavior served me well in marketing, I knew art was where my heart truly belonged. In 2018, I changed course to reconnect with what I had left behind years earlier. It was an awakening, and it continues to grow stronger every day.


I was born and raised in Minnesota, shaped by its strong Scandinavian heritage and the resilience required to endure its winters. I have lived in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and now in North Carolina. My work is often inspired by the Midwest and the Southwest, and further influenced by my travels to Alaska, South America, and the Southeast.

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THE WORK & VISION

shaping emotion through form & texture

Artist CV

BA Undergraduate

Social Psychology Hamline University

MN

Executive Studies

Brand Management University of Minnesota

MN

Executive Studies

Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

IL

Minnetonka Arts Center

Study

MN

Scottsdale Arts Center

Study

AZ

Marjon Ceramics

Study

AZ

Affiliations

Sanford Brush & Palette Club

NC

Workshops and Studies

  • Alex Manzanares. Contemporary artist, helping me understand the emotion in my human work to evoke a personal experience.

AZ

  • Rod Zullo. Known for expressive animal structures based on solid proportions, he opened me up to the animal world where I often gravitate.

MN

  • Chen Khee Chee. Watercolorist and illustrator. It woke me up to the amazing beauty of color and taught me to create what I KNOW from within.

  • Scott Turner. Taught me negative space thinking to discover what is underneath and to bring forward into brilliant life.

AZ

  • Peter Flynn. Without basics and fundamentals my ceramics and sculptures would never have breathed life beyond the kiln

AZ

Shows

2024 59th Annual Sanford Brush & Palette Art Show

Black Fish 1st Place

Sculpture

NC

Michael’s Boat 2nd Place

Sculpture

NC

2025  60th Annual Sanford Brush & Palette Art Show

Do Not Go Gently into the Night

2nd Merit

Bronze

NC

Silver Fish Box 

Best in Show

Clay Raku

NC

Earth, Wind, Fire Triptych

1st Place

Sculpture

NC

​Go Go Nyasha 2nd Place

Sculpture

NC

Wave 2nd Place

Mixed Media

NC

Copper Box

3rd Place

Clay Raku

NC

Tubby Time Honorable

Bas Relief

NC

Night Flare Honorable

Encaustic

NC

Quiet Respite Honorable

Encaustic

NC

 

© 2026 by Debra Marshall

 

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