Marcella Sabo Marcella Sabo, known as Marcy, was born in Newark, NJ to William (Bill) Mendel and Edith Maas. She had one younger brother. Marcy lives in Livingston, NJ. She is a widow with two children, two step-children and six grandchildren. Marcy s father worked as a stylist for a textile company that imported fabrics for menswear. He was also a superb pianist who was classically trained. He could play everything from Bach to rock. He chose not to pursue music as a career since the Great Depression was happening and he could make more money with his education in textile design. He played piano throughout World War II for the USO, Stage Door Canteen and for weddings and parties. After Bill retired, he played at restaurants and made quite a bit of money. For years Marcy attempted to play the piano and violin but she was never adept at it, and often heard so from her family. Her mother was a housewife who did volunteer work. Edith helped start Al Anon and was on the speaker s bureau for AA. For years she was involved with child care and Jewish Family Services. As a child, Marcy s parents took her to operas, concerts and Broadway plays. She started in the visual arts when she was eleven years old. Marcy s then boyfriend and his family stayed with her family at the Jersey Shore for a week during the summer. He brought his paint kit with him. She said, We went to the beach early one morning with his paint kit. I went with him. I watched him paint the sunrise. I said, Oh my gosh, I want to do that. I asked my grandfather, Will you buy me some paint? And he did! He bought me red, yellow, blue, black, and white, some brushes and a little marble palette. I started painting. I had just seen Lassie, so I was feverishly trying to paint collies. I was painting on paper or sketching. Marcy started art lessons at an art school on High Street on Saturdays. There she saw a beautiful Winsor Newton paint set that she wanted. She asked her grandfather again. He said that, if she were serious about painting, he would get it for her when she turned 13. She continued to paint and, when she was 13, her grandfather got her the oil paints. Both of her mother s parents were supportive of her interests and always took her to shows, ballets, museums, and often took her to the local concert hall when she was young. Marcy attended to Weequahic High School in Newark and Beaver College in Jenkintown, PA for one year. She had applied to Gaucher and Leslie, but they had a quota for Jews and she wasn t accepted. Beaver College was a Christian college and had no quota. The students had to go to chapel twice a week, which Marcy didn t mind, as she liked the music. After one year in college,
Marcy married Burton Green. She was 19. Burton was a student at MIT. Marcy went to work to help support him. During this time, Marcy had two children, Darcy and Douglas. After her divorce when she was 30, Marcy went back to college. She attended Monmouth University. Her parents helped pay for her studies. She loved studying reading and writing. During her last year of college, Marcy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It shook her, but she went to work anyway upon graduation, as a teacher. She found that the stairs and the quickness she needed to change classes were too much for her. By this time, Marcy had moved back in with her family and worked as a special education teacher. Shortly after, she met David Sabo. She was worried that her MS would scare him off. But he told her that everyone has something. They married in 1996. David and his two children, Jeanne and Charles, moved in with Marcy, her two children, four cats and her mother and father. They all lived together for several years. After her father retired, Marcy, David and their children moved into a house down the block from her parents. They all still wanted to spend time together. Marcy went to graduate school to get a degree in learning disabilities and later received a further degree in individual and family therapy. When Essex County Hospital opened, she worked there as an art therapist. She also taught art in various adult education programs. Throughout this time, Marcy continued to paint. Art introduced her to so many new and interesting people who have become her friends. In 2017, she and her daughter and son-in-law took a trip to Africa where they spent two weeks in all the parks. She took tons of pictures and recently finished two paintings of lions and is working on a painting of a hyena and two birds. Marcy is still actively painting. She paints and exhibits her work. Over the last 20 years, she has been a part of some very professional groups of artists who critique each other s work, which she has found very helpful. She doesn t feel any one artist or teacher has influenced her. She s developed her own style. She considers her work to be impressionistic. She s tried watercolor, but mainly works in acrylic and oil. She finds she can get power and nuance in oils and, while she is good at doing watercolors, she prefers oil. She enjoys using vibrant color and dramatic subjects. When asked for her definition of creativity, Marcy said, It means different things to different people. To me it means something that I take from my head, or from the environment, and I put it on canvas. And, if it meets my criteria for good art, which means if it s done well, people have an emotional response to it. I want them to think, oh look at that. That s really stormy or that s gorgeous. Or look at the expression in that face. Or you really captured that water. I want an emotional response. I don't want a pictorial response. She doesn t aim to create photographic recreations of her subjects. She wants her paintings to impart power, color and emotion. For Marcy, art is a passion. She can t live without painting. She doesn t take much time away from her art. She often photographs what she wants to paint, since her painting supplies are not easily portable. She always has more ideas than she can use. Something will catch me and I ll want to paint that. At this point in my life, very often I have a great idea. I start to paint it and it s awful. So, I take a rag. I start wiping it. But then I say, Wait a minute. A beautiful abstract emerges. Marcy usually sketches first in oil or acrylic and then paints. She tries not to get too involved in detail, but rather uses her sketches as an outline. Once she starts painting, she will often change or amplify something, wait until it dries, and then accentuate or eliminate pieces. Because she uses oil, she is able to create depth and texture in her paintings. Some of her paintings can take several weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the image. She would paint more if she wasn t working.
Marcy s goal is to go as far as she can with her art, even the Museum of Modern Art. She is very flexible about the direction her art will go in the future. She loves all different types of styles and subjects and would be happy to try new approached and techniques. It s very nice when other artists I paint with say, My God Marcy. How did you do that? That s gorgeous. But otherwise I don't need the recognition. I like it. If I didn t like my paintings I wouldn't put them up. I really don't care what other people think. Marcy doesn t create art to influence others. She does exhibit her work, but mostly to sell her pieces. In April 2018, she was a part of the Temple B nai Jeshurun s Eclectic Art Exhibit. Very often, Marcy enters her work in juried shows where she gets prizes and awards. If I get the award, wonderful. If I don't, I just figure they don't have good taste!... I do it for me. And if the people like it, wonderful. If they don t like it, OK. Marcy has been asked to have another one woman show in May and June at the Town Hall in her hometown of Livingston, NJ. She wrote, How lucky for me! Marcella Sabo s Website: sabocollection.com
Seaside Playland
Brooklyn Bridge
Late Set Brothers in Arms