About Mary

“As they say, it isn’t a book until it is opened and read. Same with art.”

I went to Wimbledon School of Art in the late 1960s on a pre-diploma course. I picked up again some 40 years later via adult education, trying printmaking, experimental 3D, life drawing and painting and goodness knows what. Of course I have been informed by the world around me and artists I have met over the years – there is so much to see and absorb. I have been searching for the illusive ever since. I even have a video, Searching, on YouTube, made in the Covid years. In between? I doodled a lot. Also I have a Cultural Studies degree from the North East London Polytechnic, (now East London University), an invaluable life skill. It really was and continues to be so.

Artist Statement

My work is experimental in 3D installations and 2D in painting, drawing and printmaking. For 3D work I started by useing mainly recycled materials to create symbolic narratives, mixing plastics with steel. This was mainly about the celebration, plight and hopes of refugees and all global travellers arriving in England. And their baggage. The baggage we load them with as well. I have moved towards using paper and card more recently and am at present intrigued with papier maché masks. In 2D I am interested in capturing movement and the patterns of nature in various forms including human, using watercolour, oils and acrylics, striving to get there but where? Still searching.  Oh, and iPad. No holds barred in this game. I take it travelling where it’s important to be quick, capturing fleeting glimpses of travellers like myself. I have also co-curated a range of outdoor 3D with sculptor Brett Banks, (On the Brink, Wild and Freedom) in the grounds of the Quaker House in Wanstead,  bringing many artists together to show their work off in the best possible conditions. In addition, I co-curated a group exhibition called ‘Carnival’ and also ran an online Facebook exhibition called, ‘Art in the Time of Covid’ in those strange covid years.

Artist Process

My process is so often about walking about and thinking, reading, researching ideas, words and then a bit of procrastination, often enough. I was accused, once, by a Stuckist, that my work was ‘conceptual.’ I love a good compliment. What hasn’t got an idea or more lurking behind the finished product? I hope you enjoy my work on this web site.