H.M. Gautsch, aka Marie, is a gifted artist who’s had signs of her calling since before she can remember. Growing up in a small town in west central Wisconsin, she would dream regularly of her favorite celebrities and television shows to help her cope through some very complicated trials and trauma throughout her childhood.

Marie would find writing and art as a useful tool when she discovered her craft, passion, and most importantly, her voice in poetry at the young age of thirteen. By the age of sixteen, she would have already had her first poem published in the spring ’13 edition of A Celebration of Young Poets.

However, life would take an unexpected, yet, necessary, turn when she would enlist in the military her senior year in high school and go on to become a decorated veteran with a total of ten and a half years in the service as an 88M (Transportation), with a tour in Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006-2007, before being honorably discharged and medically retired in 2015.

During her veteran to civilian transition, Marie would overcome various obstacles and cover many grounds in her short adult life as an artist, an authentic voice, and advocate for fellow veterans. By the age of 33, Marie would become an award-winning filmmaker and producer in the Wisconsin filmmakers community, as well as, a critically acclaimed author and poet. She also holds two Associate Degrees in the Culinary and Visual Communications fields, as well as, working on her Bachelor of the Arts in Graphic Design/Media Arts through Southern New Hampshire University.

Marie continues to make leaps and bounds within the fields she feels the most passionate about.