Women Mind the Water: Lisa Kozel Mangione, Maryland

Submitted as part of the Women Mind the Water (WMW) digital stories project produced by Pam Ferris-Olson, in conjunction with Stories from Main Street and the traveling exhibition "Water/Ways." This story is one in a series created for a podcast in 2022, featuring regional and international artists whose inspiration blends conversation, activism, science, and water. Find earlier stories from the WMW initiative by searching for "Women Mind the Water" on this website.

Lisa Kozel Mangione is a mixed media artist who is the definition of artivist. Lisa raises money for charitable causes by either donating her work to the organizations directly or selling her work and donating the proceeds. Lisa is using her art in service of the Perryman Peninsula Project, a rural community in Harford County, Maryland. The land known as Mitchell Farm is under consideration for development as a freight distribution district. The possibility of the land being transformed from rural to industrial has spurred Lisa to action. She is concerned about the harm the development will cause on an area that used to be wetland. Already industrialization impacts local waterways and ultimately Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. The new proposal will cause additional pressure and sited close to the water. Lisa wants people to know that even an average person can make a difference.

Pam Ferris Olson (00:01): Today on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series, I'm speaking with Lisa Kozel Mangione, a painter who is the definition of Artivist. Lisa is currently using her art in service of a rural community in Hartford County, Maryland. This land, known as Mitchell Farm, is under consideration for development as a freight distribution district.

(00:24): The possibility of the land being transformed from rural to industrial spurred Lisa to action. She had concern about the harm that would be placed on the local waterways and, ultimately, Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.

(00:42): The Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com engages artists in conversation about their work, and explores their connection with the ocean. Through their stories, Women Mind the Water hopes to inspire and encourage action to protect the ocean and her creatures.

(01:00): My guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast is Lisa Mangione.

(01:06): Lisa grew up in Maryland. When she was three, her family began camping at the mouth of the Chesapeake, cementing a lifelong connection for Lisa with the area. Her parents taught her to respect and love the ocean. And her mother, a commercial artist for Sears, instilled in her an appreciation for art. During her youth, Lisa spent nearly every weekend seated at the kitchen table creating with brushes and pencils.

(01:35): Welcome, Lisa. I am pleased that you reached out to me through my womenmindthewater.com website. It seems you read a story about me in an issue of Splash, a publication of the Ocean Conservancy. I was grateful to read I inspired you to reach out and tell me about your work. I was particularly interested when you mentioned that you support local organizations through your artwork and wanted to know if the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series would focus on the Mitchell Farm issue. My answer is "yes."

(02:08): So, let's get to it.

(02:10): Lisa, let's begin by having you give us a brief description of the area you are working to support.

Lisa Mangione (02:17): Oh. First of all, thank you so much, Pam for having me on. I really appreciate this platform and all the work that you're doing.

(02:24): I grew up in Hartford County. My parents moved here about 60 years ago. And I've seen a lot of change in Hartford County, a lot of building, a lot of new homes, apartments, commercial space. And so, it has come now to this area that is called Perryman, the Perryman Peninsula. And it is just a little special place.

(02:51): There's 700 families that live there. And it is right on Bush River, which actually feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. And it's just a special place. The area in question was an agricultural area. It was farmed by the Mitchell family, corn, for a very long time, hundreds of years or a hundred years, probably hundreds, because there were African slaves that used to hand till the ground in order to be able to plant the corn. And so, it's come to the point now where the family's gotten older, and of course they want to sell the land.

Pam Ferris Olson (03:50): Okay.

(03:51): So, it's a historic place in a small community.

Lisa Mangione (03:54): Mm-hmm.

Pam Ferris Olson (03:57): And I have to say, saying Perryman Peninsula Project is definitely a mouthful.

(04:04): While your credentials don't mention formal schooling in art, you do belong to the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society and the American Society of Marine Artists. Can you tell me a little bit about your journey as an artist?

Lisa Mangione (04:19): As you said, I grew up painting and sculpting, and whatever else my mom would introduce me to when I was young. And actually, her grandfather was a lithographer for the US Mint. He would draw things for her. He'd draw a $5 bill with Mickey Mouse in the center. So, I have a very long history of artists on my mom's side. I've always just had that. But I really didn't get serious about being a professional artist until 2016. And at that time just, started with acrylics and colored pencils and watercolor. And then, in the last year I've started with oils.

Pam Ferris Olson (05:13): How has your life experience shaped your art and your philosophy about art?

Lisa Mangione (05:18): Well, as you mentioned, too, at the beginning, I grew up camping. I grew up fishing and crabbing and searching for seashells and making things out of the seashells that I found. And it was a real bonding experience with both of my parents. My dad would take me out on the boat and we'd go fishing or we'd go soft crabbing. Soft crabbing is just so much fun. I don't know. Have you ever been soft crabbing?

Pam Ferris Olson (05:47): No, I have not.

Lisa Mangione (05:49): You take a net that has a flat bottom with a roller on it and you push that through the grass and then when the crabs jump out of the grass, you run and catch them. So, you're running through the water trying to scoop them up. It's a lot of fun. It really is.

(06:06): So, I think the reason that the water means so much to me is because I grew up that way, and I've seen it change. I've seen the pollutants. That's what spurs me.

Pam Ferris Olson (06:21): All right.

(06:21): Let's talk about one of your paintings. You did one about the Blue Crab. I believe the Blue Crab is the most valuable fishery in the area. And it's Maryland state crustacean. What inspired that particulate work?

Lisa Mangione (06:37): Again, probably going soft crabbing with my dad. Because that's a crab that's under the water. I like to do underwater scenes because they're a little different than the norm.

Pam Ferris Olson (06:51): When you paint a subject like the Blue Crab, do you rely on your memory or use a photograph or real crab? I ask because I'm interested in whether you were trying to capture the real animal or just the essence of it.

Lisa Mangione (07:05): I'm actually a realist painter. So, I do try to capture the actual animal as it is. What I typically do is go out and pull a number of different reference photos from different sites. And then I use all of those to actually get to know the animal and the anatomy of the animal so that I can portray it correctly.

Pam Ferris Olson (07:32): Very good. I know. I have a science background. And I'm a stickler sometimes when I look and the crustacean doesn't have the right number of legs. That's nice to hear that you do look at the subject.

(07:47): How do you use your art to do good? Do you donate the piece to the organization for them to sell? Or do you sell the work and then donate the proceeds to the organization?

Lisa Mangione (07:58): I actually do both. I donate a lot of art to local organizations. Obviously, I donate to, we call it 3P, so that you don't have to remember Perryman Peninsula Project.

Pam Ferris Olson (08:12): Yeah.

Lisa Mangione (08:12): It's easier to say 3P. I do. I donate to them. And then, I donate also to a local organization that is called Extreme Family Outreach. It's for underprivileged kids in the area. And then, I also to other organizations here in Hartford County. And then, I also did years ago, and I'd like to do it again, is take a percentage of my paintings and then donate that to either Mote Marine Lab down in Sarasota or Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Pam Ferris Olson (08:51): That's wonderful.

(08:53): There's a vast number of worthy projects needing support. How did you come to decide that the Mitchell Farm project was where you wanted to contribute?

Lisa Mangione (09:02): When I started to learn more about the project, it was really just heart-tugging to me, because I could see where it was just another project, another part of Hartford County that would be really affected by the runoff of the water and the wildlife that lives there, even mammals that live on the land, of course.

Pam Ferris Olson (09:35): Right.

(09:36): Explain for us what a freight distribution district is.

Lisa Mangione (09:41): They already have warehouses in that area, and they're already seen the negative environmental effects from those. But these new warehouses are actually going to be closer and, in some cases, back right up to the housing area that's right there. So, it's even more in their face, kind of thing. You know what I mean? And it's going to be even more of an effect on the environment because that area was originally wetlands, and it's just going to be even worse for the environment, because it's even closer to the water.

Pam Ferris Olson (10:25): I don't know how much money needs to be raised to save the property, or if the property is even for sale. I wonder if your art is less about raising money and more about raising awareness.

Lisa Mangione (10:38): Well, it's hopefully about both. It's hopefully about people realizing that this project is important. And it's hopefully about educating people on it. And it's hopefully about raising the money. Because they really do need to continue to raise money to fight the fight.

Pam Ferris Olson (11:02): What's the current status of the Mitchell Farm development?

Lisa Mangione (11:06): Like I said, the residents there have banded together and they have a lawsuit that is against the developer and some of Hartford County officials and other people that have been involved in it. And they are fighting it in court.

Pam Ferris Olson (11:27): How can listeners find out more about the project? And what can they do to help?

Lisa Mangione (11:32): They can go to protectperryman.com. That's their website, and also the Perryman Peninsula Project on Facebook.

Pam Ferris Olson (11:47): Are you painting any more besides the Blue Crab in support of the project?

Lisa Mangione (11:53): I would like to do a bald eagle. That would be my next one. Because there's a resident there, he has a home on the water, and he has taken pictures of this family of eagles that had two eaglets this summer, and he would post the pictures of the eagles as they were growing up. And so, I think that would be really kind of a neat painting to do.

Pam Ferris Olson (12:24): Lovely.

(12:25): As someone who is actively using her art in service of environmental projects, you clearly believe you can make a difference. Can you talk to my audience about this? How can they get involved in issues of local importance?

Lisa Mangione (12:41): I think, first thing is that the average person, and artists, need to realize that they can make a difference. They shouldn't sell themselves short. And they shouldn't feel that their art is not worthy, because it is. And as you saw with the Perryman Project, all of those families have banded together, and now they're one voice.

(13:13): And so, I think that, if everybody realizes that they have a small piece of the puzzle, it may be a small piece, but then when you start putting all the pieces together, it becomes something big and good. And I would encourage people to educate themselves on who is running for office, who is in office, where they stand on environmental issues, and to be cognizant of that when you go to vote. And please vote.

Pam Ferris Olson (13:41): That's a very timely call to action. I appreciate it.

(13:46): Thank you, Lisa, for reaching out to me to be on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. I applaud you for the work you are doing and hope listeners have gained a renewed sense of how they also can make a difference.

(13:59): And I'd like to remind my listeners that I have been speaking with Lisa Kozel Mangione, for the Woman Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. The series can be viewed on womenmindthe water.com, Museum on Main Street, and YouTube. An audio-only version of this podcast is available on womenmindthewater.com on iTunes and BuzzFeed.

(14:22): Women Mind the Water is grateful to Jane Rice for the use of her song, Women of Water. All Rights for the Women Mind the Water name and logo belong to Pam Ferris Olson. This is Pam Ferris Olson.

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Asset ID: 2022.04.20
Themes: Chesapeake Bay, Family, Generations, Drawing, Artists, Agriculture, Farming, Fishing, Crabbing, Realism, Perryman Peninsula Project, Mitchell Farm Project, Development, Runoff, Wetlands, Voting
Date recorded: October 31, 2022
Length of recording: 0:14:37
Related traveling exhibition: Water/Ways
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Women Mind the Water
More information: https://womenmindthewater.com/featured-guests