Hi, I’m Mary!
I grew up in a Baltimore suburb where much of my childhood was spent using my imagination—we didn’t have cable TV or gaming consoles, and cell phones weren’t really a thing until my senior year of high school (my first phone had an antenna!). I’ve always loved, and found it easier, to express myself through writing, journaling, and poetry, but it wasn’t until high school that I really started to consider what I wanted to be when I grew up. I landed on “something art-related,” to which my dad replied, “Okay… and what else?” followed quickly by, “How are you planning to pay your bills?”
That’s when I added teacher into the mix (because we all know the exorbitent amount of money that teachers get paid 😂).
I attended Towson University, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. Because art teaching positions can be limited—and often underappreciated—finding a job wasn’t easy, but I remained determined (partly because I believe deeply in the work, and partly because I couldn’t let my dad be right). As a fail-safe, I earned additional certification in Special Education, followed by a master’s degree in Trauma-Informed Education. I have also studied Intentional Creativity and Healing Arts with Shiloh Sophia, founder of Intentional Creativity©. During that time, I created a large body of art and writing—an artifact of my own healing journey—which eventually became a self-published book of original poetry and artwork, created with the intention of purging what I no longer needed, and helping others feel less alone.
Most of my personal work is painting and scratchboard art, but I don’t limit myself. I create based on feeling, using whatever materials I have on hand. The process matters more than the medium. I hope you'll peruse the site and take a gander at some of my recent pieces. 🤍🤍🤍
