Come along on my journey of noticing beauty amidst the chaos of this season of life and history.
I'm Mary Beth; an artist, writer, and stay-at-home-mom.
I have been intentionally cultivating a creative life for myself and my family since the summer of 2020. The COVID lockdowns were the catalyst for me to leave my library career and care full time for our first child (a baby at the time). Feeling lost and isolated in early motherhood, I re-found art supplies from my days as a design major in college. When I walked away from architecture as a profession during my junior year of undergrad, I thought I had walked away from my creativity completely. Thanks to a good napper and a supportive partner, I began to experiment. Now I look for moments of art, play, and creativity in every day.
I am a multi-passionate artist with a love of nature and ecologically responsible materials. I am often still experimenting with new methods and styles, always taking inspiration, and sometimes materials, from the nature that surrounds us in the Mid-Atlantic where we live. I love to combine multiple techniques and mediums into each piece (woodburning and watercolors or pressed flowers and embroidery). I strive to have all of my materials ethically and ecologically sourced: small BIPOC businesses, local creative reuse centers, and fallen wood from family property. My desire is for my artwork to have a safe place in the world: on a friend's wall, in a local bakery, in the hands of an enthuiastic stranger.
As I writer, I love to center nature, often through poetry. My season of life feels integrally connected to the season of creation and those themes intertwine throughout my writing. The complexities of my identities also shape my world view: white cis-hetro woman, chronically ill (mentally and physically), ally and open-armed as best as I can be, runner, photographer, gluten-free lover, hiker, and so much more. I believe we each have a unique view of beauty and justice and I hope to learn more than I create. Often times there are also glimmers of my faith tradition present, grounded in a belief of a divine creator that is inclusive and loving.
*All photographs you see are original artwork captured by myself*