Mary has been a full-time craft artist for over 35 years working with natural materials to make corn shuck arts 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 has sold to QVC Telemarketing, national catalog companies and exported to Europe. Mary is a lifetime adjudicated member of the Kentucky Arts Council's Kentucky Crafted Program. She has been instrumental in the organizational development of several nonprofit art organizations and has served on the board and held officer positions of the Estill Arts Council, Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center, Kentucky Arts Council's Craft Market Advisory Committee, Mountain Mushroom Festival, Kentucky Craft History and Education Association, and the River City Players.
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 helped teachers integrate the arts into the classroom. She has provided technical assistance to nonprofits and believes strongly in networking and partnering with local, regional and state arts agencies and organizations.