Meet Marissa Postler | Mar in Color – musician, educator, and coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa Postler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marissa, how does your business help the community?
I started 2024 with an intention statement based upon one of my favorite affirmations from The Artist’s Way. My intention was, and still is, to heal myself and others by wielding the full power of my creativity. That’s honestly my ultimate vision and mission statement in life.

As an artist trying to carve out a living doing what I love, I believe both sides of this coin are equally important – I of course want to release what’s inside me through music and art and share it with the world. And while doing that, I also want to empower others to do the same, so we can all experience healing, growth, spiritual peace, and deeper levels of fulfillment.

I want to show the world how embracing and prioritizing creativity – practicing art or music or whatever they feel called to create – is one of the most powerful things a person can do to replace anxiety, fear, low self confidence, guilt, or whatever negative emotions are ruling them with inner peace.

So with that goal in mind, I strive to be as transparent as I can about my own journey so others can see that they don’t need to wait until they’re a certain level of “perfect” or even “good” to start expressing themselves artistically or musically.

I absolutely love working with music students who are adult beginners, finally ready to take the plunge and let their inner child start calling the shots. My goal is to convince absolutely anyone who feels a pull toward music to GO FOR IT, and help support them in whatever way I can – whether that be through voice or piano lessons with me, joining one of my coaching programs for singer/songwriters, or even just utilizing my free content.

I firmly believe that more people creating music/art leads to better music/art for all of us to enjoy. If you enjoy music/art, why not pay it forward and add something uniquely YOURS to the collective pile of music/art so others can in turn be inspired by you the way you’ve been inspired by others?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Right now I’m most proud of how far I’ve come in the past year of my life. A year ago, I was chronically ill and absolutely miserable in my job with zero energy available for the creative endeavors that light me up inside. Today I’m a gigging musician, performing songs I wrote for people all over Michigan and growing into a better singer, pianist, and performer every single day.

I also work with students who remind me of my past self, and getting to walk this journey alongside them makes it even more fulfilling. I wasted too much of my life thinking I wasn’t good enough to pursue music, and proving that wrong has had such a profound impact on my life, I’m now dedicated to helping other people push past their own inner demons and find their creative calling while I continue to pursue mine.

I still have a long way to go towards achieving my goals because they’re massive, but I never in a million years would have imagined myself here at this point less than a year after quitting my job, and I can’t wait to see where I’ll be in another year!

I’ve also been writing a lot of different styles of music lately that I’ve never explored before, and I’m really curious to see where the Mar in Color project ends up going! I refuse to compartmentalize anything artistically speaking, so everything I create lives under one umbrella. So don’t be surprised if by this time next year, I have an indie rock album and an electronic DJ mix in the same pile! 😄

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not a big restaurant/bar person since my health issues have me eating vegan and gluten free with no alcohol. The place I miss the most though since having to cut every single delicious thing out of my life is my neighborhood brewery, Two Guys in Wyoming. I have a thing for pretzels and beer cheese and theirs is by far the best I’ve ever had, not to mention their brussels sprouts! And they even make my favorite summer beer – Boob Sweat! Definitely check them out and have a Boob Sweat for me!

I know this is outside of GR, but I’d definitely take them to some of my favorite beaches like Hoffmaster and Rosy Mound. We are seriously so spoiled with gorgeous beaches lining the entire west coast of Michigan!

I’ve also been known to take out-of-towners to Horrocks for an experience that really can’t be described if you haven’t been there. Whatever your vice is, they specialize in it! And at what other grocery store can you have a beer and see live music???

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wanna dedicate this Shoutout to my dear friend Sasha Evans. Sometimes we need an older friend who has already done the thing we’re scared of to see our potential and push us out of our comfort zones. Watching her continue to push herself to new lengths as a musician while I started my own journey was so inspiring and proved to me that nothing is truly out of reach if you’re willing to work at it consistently. She also challenged my inner voice any time it tried to spew insecure nonsense at me. Now that I’m further along in my own journey, I’m starting to attract younger friends who remind me of my past self, and it feels so good to get to pay it forward and “be their Sasha.”

Website: https://www.musicartrelease.com

Instagram: @mar_in_color

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellomarincolor/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mar_in_color

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mar_in_color?_t=8jiztlsnaiu&_r=1
https://open.spotify.com/artist/02GLTPtfL2nMET7SVoo23l?si=38420443ac90458e&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree

Image Credits
Chelsea Whitaker, David Jones, Photos by Morgan