Mary has been a full-time craft artist for over 30 years working with natural materials to make corn shuck dolls, angels, flowers and baskets from the bark of poplar and willow trees. She has marketed to galleries in most states and at retail and wholesale trade shows from city parks to the New York International Gift Show. She also sold to QVC Telemarketing, national catalog companies and exported to Europe. Mary is a lifetime juried member of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Kentucky Crafted Program, the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen and the Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center. She has been instrumental in the organizational development of several nonprofit art organizations and has served on the board of trustees of Appalachian Heritage Highways, Estill Arts Council, Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center, Kentucky Arts Council’s Craft Market Advisory Committee, the Mountain Mushroom Festival, Estill County Tourism Task Force and the Kentucky Craft History and Education Association.
Mary has served as a juror for craft organizations and as a mentor to artists. She has conducted workshops about booth design, marketing and product Design, jurying, pricing, managing a craft business, surviving hard economic times, board development, strategic planning and festival planning. As a Community Scholar with the Kentucky Folklife Program, she has worked with festival coordinators as an advisor helping to incorporate cultural arts, heritage arts and folklore into festivals. As an artist-in-residence she has helped teachers integrate the arts into the classroom. She has provided technical and grant writing assistance to nonprofits and believes strongly in networking and partnering with local, regional and state arts agencies and organizations