About Mary

I'm equally a wood carver and a painter. My artwork has been described as primitive, traditional, untrained, Americana, whimsical, naïve, eccentric, outsider, visionary or carved craft. I am commonly referred to as a folk artist, although I feel most comfortable with the term “self-taught” as in self-made, in the great American tradition. Define me as you will, I just try to make a good picture.

My artwork is entirely carved in white pine and painted with acrylics. Each piece is a unique original hand made by me. I am untaught and untrained as a visual artist. I learned a number of useful skills by building my own house in the back to the land movement of the 1970s, and during my work in the trades as a signpainter and carpenter in the 1970s and 1980s.

I work out of my Ithaca, NY studio, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. I was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1950. I have lived in Ithaca, New York ever since I graduated from Cornell '72 with a major in creative writing. While at Cornell, I wanted to be a writer.  One year after graduating my father gave me a painted wood carving he had made of me at the farm where I grew up (Mary Shelley's  father's work). Soon I started to make carvings as well. Eventually I stopped writing and was only making visual art.

My art is a sort of "picture diary" or "picture story" in which I document life events, emotions and places important to my life. Much as a diary would, it helps me make sense of the events of my life. I go to my studio to settle myself.

My work is carved on rough cut white pine boards that are air-dried in the crawl space beneath the front porch to my house. I start with a sketch, select a board and carve down to create shapes. I use no glued on pieces. A sliding batten is fastened on the back of the carving to prevent warping or cupping. Most of my pieces are carved on four quarter (1” thick) stock. I then paint the carving with acrylics, sealing it front and back (again to prevent warping) with an acrylic varnish. An inner gold-leafed frame, gold leafing being a remnant of my signmaker days, completes the look of my larger works. My goal is to create a quality crafted piece of art that will survive long past my lifetime.

As I make a piece of artwork I become entirely absorbed in it, but once it is finished I get wholeheartedly into the next piece. I work on several pieces at a time, demonstrating carving in the summer at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market, and accumulating pieces to paint over the long indoor winter months.

Since 1974 I have completed approximately 1000 carved and painted wood pictures. For fourteen of those years I supplemented my art income by working as a sign painter and carpenter.  Since 1990 I have worked as a social worker, and thus you might notice a focus in my work on people- their faces, suffering, hopes, endurance and beauty.

As an artist I experience a sense of isolation because I work alone for many hours of the day. So it comforts me to think of my pictures going to live with people I do not know and becoming a part of their lives.