A love of the outdoors has been an integral part of Marianne’s life. It has guided decisions from where to live to the themes of her art. Marianne was born and raised in Germany. Roaming the Black Forest in her childhood sparked her connection to nature and curiosity about natural history. Following her love for the woods and the need to use her hands creatively, she applied to the Wood Carving School Berchtesgaden in Germany and attained her Journeyman Woodcarver degree.

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Her world travels and passion for mountains and ice climbing brought her to Alaska in 1985. She made Fairbanks her permanent home in the 90’s, where she has since been carving, teaching at The Folk School, homeschooling, raising a family, a garden and goats.

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In 2007 Marianne Stolz & John Manthei founded The Folk School at Fairbanks after creating the “Week in the Woods” program where participants spend 6 days in the remote boreal forest learning traditional hands-on crafts and exploring forest ecology with a host of talented instructors, such as Marianne! Marianne instructs a variety of classes at The Folk School including wood working, Bog Studies for Kids, Eco-Printing fabrics, and many more.

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Marianne works as a professional wood carver, ice carver and artist. Her recent show “Pond Life in Wood” was on display at The Well Street Art Company. Marianne says of her show, “The natural world inspires my creations. I am curious about the interaction of the many literal and figurative layers. I am fascinated by the diversity of the parts and intrigued by the ever-changing flow between all. A grand vista from a mountain top excites me as much as watching the busy life of a water drop through a microscope. In this show “Pond Life in Wood” I express the beauty I see in the intricate dynamics and complex relationships of a pond ecosystem.”