About
Mary grew up in Shelburne, Vermont, on the edge of Lake Champlain. Color, pattern, and design were easily seen in the striped beach rocks and the textures of the water. Collecting from the natural world and beach combing inspired a constant practice of observing.
Mary began working as an artist in her 20s. In college, she sold her batik wall hangings (remember the 1970s?) and later, after an apprenticeship in California with a textile designer, she began printing with potatoes. Why potatoes? They are excellent conduits for paint, transferring the pigment with crisp efficiency(!)
Her first business, Spudprints, was a hand-painted clothing company that featured brilliant color combinations using actual potatoes for prints. Her sleep shirts and beach cover-ups were sold up and down the East Coast for several years. She enjoyed seeing customers experience so much fun choosing just the right, zany shirt for themselves or a friend.
In her 40s, she began painting on wooden blocks, which soon evolved into rustic peace banners using positive affirmations. Mary photographed these wall hangings and turned many of the images into greeting cards.
Her work has been demonstrated in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and coffeehouses. She has taught workshops for elementary school kids, trauma victims, women’s retreats, senior centers, and bereavement groups. Students have created healing banners centered on words such as love, trust, and breathe.
Mary painted murals in homes and businesses with a color wash technique using sponges and a variety of colors, brightening lives over the years. She organized community workshops and created 2x3 ' banners that hung from telephone poles during the warmer months. She inspired friends and communities to collaborate through art. Mary still paints, leads workshops, and explores new mediums in her rural studio in the wooded hills.
Residing near Mt. Mansfield in Vermont with her husband, Rick, she finds inspiration in the quiet natural surroundings that nurture her artist soul.
She studied art at a number of different schools in the 80’s and graduated in 2015 from Northern Vermont University with a BA in Studio Art.
Mary’s grown up children continue to inspire her to write, create her own website and be a thoughtful citizen of the world.
Hard at work writing down the many adventures from my starving artist era.