Once upon a time, a wee Molly Roberts was building tree forts and foraging for treasures in the marshland of Menomonee Falls. There weren’t any streetlights in this part of the village, so Roberts and her friends returned home when the stars came out.
“I wanted to be a witch when I grew up,” says Roberts. “The stories I enjoyed the most included witches who used mundane materials to help people uncover something mysterious and powerful that was already within them.”
The books she adored in childhood portrayed witches as primarily women who lived outside of mainstream culture and had the power to change people.
“They had the ability to help people in unconventional ways,” says Roberts. “A transformation would take place. A healing. I wanted to try and help people help themselves like that.”
After many granules of sand sifted through her hourglass, Roberts left the village for art school. The experience, however, did not go as she hoped. Instead of providing inspiration, formal art education left her disenchanted, disconnected and wondering why she wanted to be an artist.
“To reclaim my creative juice, I set out to unlearn as much as I could and go hard on ‘low art’ and live performance. I believe that’s where my connection to art witchery bloomed,” says Roberts, who was the lead singer of Tigernite, once described as “witchy glam rock from hell.”
Today, Roberts is a magickal brew of her childhood dreams, her adult intentions and a hearty dash of humor. Through her business, Molly Roberts Magick, she shares her love of art, nature and the healing potential of creativity to people worldwide. The venture started about eight years ago as a YouTube channel and the fervid response encouraged Roberts to expand its horizon.
“My work has a playful, colorful and therapeutic flavor. Everything is intended to aid the viewer in uncovering their own creative potential,” says Roberts. “It has big heart, but never takes itself too seriously. Having a sense of humor keeps art alive and useful.”
Roberts is deeply inspired by folk art and it’s woven into all of her paintings, books and oracle decks, which are similar to tarot cards.
“Art Magick: How to Become an Art Witch and Unlock Your Creative Power,” is a step-by step, lushly illustrated guide for 15 witchy projects and information revealing how to establish an art magick practice. She is also the author of “Rainbow Magick: 12 Color Quests for Art Witches.” Both of these books are available at Lion’s Tooth in Bayview and through Roberts’ website.
Over the year, Roberts' definition of what it means to be a witch has shifted and grown.
“There isn’t one way to be a witch, but for me, much of witchness is being willing to experience the world as alive, full of poetry and layered with meaning,” says Roberts.
In the future, Roberts would love to have a public space for her work and the community.
“On my walks around town, I peer into the windows of spaces for rent and imagine a boutique to cater to Milwaukee’s creative and magickal needs. It’s a lovely daydream … for now,” says Roberts.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
