Daily Inspiration: Meet Cheryl Maus

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Maus.

Hi Cheryl, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
When I was a little girl, art always captivated my attention. I was especially drawn to photography and its ability to capture the beauty in the world and hold onto it. My father had a Canon film camera that I would take with me to summer camp, snap rolls and rolls of film, and then send them in for processing. It was fun, but something was missing. 

Fast forward to 2010; I had been in college for about 5 years at this point. I had ventured into a few fields of study, including psychology, education, and business, along with taking classes at two colleges, Baker College and Oakland University. While I was studying psychology at Oakland University, I took a studio art course on media art. It was this class that I finally found passion in what I was learning. I switched my major one last and final time; Studio Art with a concentration on photography would be the undergraduate degree I would earn in 2013. I was able to study black and white film and process that film in the darkroom of Oakland University. I even started a photography business focusing on weddings and family photos. I also worked for a local photography gallery, Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, assisting with gallery hours and maintaining their membership; it was an exciting time. My sites, however, were far grander, hoping to one day have my work on display in an art museum, specifically the Detroit Institute of Arts. 

Then, I thought I met the love of my life a few months after graduating. I was working at a camera store in Pontiac, Michigan, and he was a film artist along with a musician. He promised to teach me how to create video art and enhance my toolbox with using a digital camera. The next two years would be the most traumatic, abusive, and disruptive time in my life. I was told by someone who I thought cared and loved photography that I was a horrible photographer and my dream of having my work in the Detroit Institute of Arts was stupid. He smashed my large format Crown Graphic camera and made me sell my Mamiya 4×5 medium format camera. If I didn’t do as he said, more things would be smashed, or I would lose more contact with my family; I was scared. Thankfully, I was able to remove myself after 2 years and rebuild my life. 

From 2016 until 2020, I would have to reteach myself how to be an artist, how to love my work again, and put myself back out into the art community of Detroit. I had my work featured in a few Call for Arts, which helped to boost my confidence. I still had that dream of having my work in a large art museum, but how, I was unsure. Then, at the beginning of 2020, I decided I wanted to go back to school to earn a Master’s degree. I had been searching on the Detroit Institute of Arts job posting page on what degrees would be needed to pursue a career with exhibitions or curatorial and kept seeing Museum Studies pop up. I spoke with a few of the professors I had in undergrad about this field of study, and they agreed it would be beneficial to look into it. I searched a few Michigan universities to see what the requirements were for this degrees, but then came upon Johns Hopkins University. A former classmate had just finished a program with them, so I reached out for some insight. After writing an admission essay, I was accepted as a provisionary student to their online Museum Studies program, which would begin in May of 2020. I was nervous with starting an online program as I enjoyed being in the classroom, but part of the reasoning for applying was, in the event I acquired a job outside of the state of the school I was attending, I could continue my studies. A month after receiving my acceptance letter, COVID-19 struck the entire nation shut down, and all schooling was moved to an online platform, called myself lucky for sure. 

During this grad program, I learned how to curate, along with how museums function in terms of how artwork is acquired. I also learned the difficulty in what it would take to work for a museum along with having any of my artwork in a museum. It occurred to me during my studies that art galleries are a great way for the community to view artwork, be able to purchase artwork, and even speak with the artist. Understanding this level of accessibility and seeing the difference with how people associated with museums, I decided to change my goal. Designing, building, and opening an art gallery became the new dream. I envisioned a space where people from all over could engage with local artists and their artwork and start collecting. At this time, I worked at Hatch Art in Hamtramck, Michigan, for several years as their Assistant Gallery Director, helping the Director, Chris Schneider, with installing shows and running gallery hours. I even curated and installed a pop-up show featuring 10 artists. This pop-up would happen again for another three years, always in December. 

In 2023, I formed Maus Haus Gallery, LLC. Playing off of my last name, Maus, and the German spelling for both maus and haus, I thought it would be a name easy for visitors to remember. I started visiting local art galleries, seeing their space, and discovered Color | Ink Studio in Hazel Park, Michigan, during National Pinhole Camera Day. Photography once again directs my path in one way or another. I sent the owners, Eric and Candace Law, an email to see if they had any openings on their calendar for Maus Haus to come in and do a guest spot. We met and spoke about both galleries’ goals and started a wonderful working relationship. This would become Maus Haus Galleries’ first pop-up show in 2023, followed by the third and final pop-up at Hatch Art in December. These two shows fueled my ambition, along with building the confidence I needed to start showcasing artists. January 2024, I installed and curated my first solo artist show, taking over Color | Ink Studios space once again, featuring local contemporary artist Keto Green. This show ran for 3 weeks and sold 6 pieces, the most I had sold at all previous shows combined. 

Which brings me to today, currently I have a 3-week show featuring two artists, Zach Curtis and Kyla Fisher, on display at Color | Ink Studio, and scheduled a third show at Color | Ink Studio in March, which will feature Dawud Shabazz and Mike McKeown. 

While the journey here has been challenging and hard at times, it is the first time in my life that I love what I am doing, feel confident that I am where I am supposed to be, and receive wonderful reviews whenever I have exhibits. I also have positive, motivating, and supportive people in my life that encourage this career endeavor. My goal is to continue having Maus Haus do guest spots at other local art galleries and eventually open up a permanent location. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road. The challenges I have faced so far are competing with other galleries’ open hours, opening reception, and just building a good relationship within the community. Besides the previously mentioned personal struggles, there have also been financial struggles, as I am working to pay off my graduate school debt along with any debt acquired when starting up my gallery space in 2023. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My artwork is primarily photography; nature, architecture, and animals are my muse. Black and white photography is where I thrive. I also enjoy painting with acrylics. I picked this up during the pandemic. What sets me apart from others is my work has human qualities built in. Meaning, I like to apply human characteristics within my photography. I created an art series with 6 homes in various stages of being built that mimic the lifecycle of a person. I enjoy psychology and art, which tends to get mushed together. 

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Keep pushing for what you love. It is going to be hard at first, but when you love what you do, that will trump everything in the end. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maushausgallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maushausgallery/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/clmausphoto

Image Credits
Jeff Cancelosi