Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mary Ann Morrison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Mary Ann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I feel like my discussion actually covers being misunderstood and unexpected issues as well.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

A canvas rebel in more ways than the painted version, I’ve been in love with photography since the late 1970’s, preferring subjects in nature while on hikes in God’s amazing creation. After retiring from the military in 2008, I decided to get more serious about it. My favorite camera is a Nikon DSLR 3400. So, imagine my confusion, surprise, and heartbreak, when after printing my work on wood and canvas in about 2017, I was told by a serious painter that it isn’t really art because it was not original as it is reproducible. In my insurgent attitude, I started printing on T-shirts and tote bags too. Then, I started applying photographic metal images to mosaics and happily making stepping stones with glass and pottery.

In 2019, I attended a photography class with Sarah Gilliam at the Columbia Arts Building in Tennessee. It was refreshing to be around more photographers. The energy and exuberance of other artists in classes is exhilarating. As a member of Franklin County Arts Guild (FCAG), Cowan, Tennessee, I have taken mosaic classes with Glen & Carol Vandenbosch and Denise Breslin. I’ve also attended a couple of painting classes with a guest artist. I really do love painting and do not consider myself a painter at this time.

Exposure to bookmaking during classes at FCAG with Margie Gallagher and Nancy Wallace, and having a love of the outdoors, led to a wonderful class, which I found online, in Eco printing with Dawna Magliacano. I attended it with a friend in January 2020, near Nashville. Working with paper and cotton cloth, we transferred tannins and dyes from leaves, other natural materials and rust from metal through heat, steam and pressure. This opened a whole new art world for me!

I still enjoy every one of the other media listed above and there are even more. Experimenting with Eco print has turned into a passion! Using high quality art paper, I make books with up-cycled book covers, and stationery such as greeting cards, postcards, and bookmarks with Eco friendly materials. I have Eco printed on cotton, bamboo and silk to design scarves, T-shirts, blouses and pants. Some of my clothing is up-cycled as well. I’ve enjoyed covering the faces of wall clocks with Eco print as well.

Sitting alone in my studio at the beginning of 2022, when COVID was still running rampant one evening, I was reflecting on a class I was taking. It was the first Periscope: Rural Artist Development class, through the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. That class challenged me in ways I never imagined. I was praying about what I could do to benefit others with my art and what a lifetime goal in reaching others with my art would be. I’d been frustratingly working on this for several days.

It was getting dark outside so I thought about switching on a light, but it just didn’t feel right. Somehow, the darkness seemed to help me focus and relax, but at the same time I was not as comfortable as I’d like to be. Though I was visiting in our online class with others, I realized I felt lonely. I got to thinking about being grateful that I hadn’t had COVID (that wouldn’t happen until 2023, twice). I was, however, just getting over having Strep, for the third time. Something that I hadn’t ever had until a couple of years ago. This was in addition to other health-related things that had crept up on me.

So I started thinking blessings and about basic needs, food, clothing and shelter. Thankfully, I have all of those. The thing I was feeling deficient in was health! I wouldn’t find out until the end of the year that I have an immune deficiency. That explained a lot! This necessitates that I be careful about exposure to others and exposing others to me. But back to the question of how my art could benefit others.
Sitting there in the dark, I realized, now, more than ever, many more people than ever, are in need of the one thing, that I’ve been involved with in one way or another, no matter where I’ve lived. People are hungry! But how could I help here, in my town? Suddenly, the light came on, so to speak. I think the book of Isaiah, Chapter 58, Verses 10-11, in The Bible sum it up well for me: “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually…”

Over the next couple of weeks, I started studying, trying to find how I could best help, locally. One thing that I kept thinking was, to find where The Lord is already working. I asked my church to pray about it and spoke to my spouse and sister, Madonna as well. There are several organizations that feed people in our area, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee provides food to them. I also discovered through Second Harvest, that over 350,000 people in Middle and West Tennessee are living with food insecurity. I have volunteered at their Nashville office and helped a few times with distribution in Winchester, so this is a good fit for me.

Mostly through FCAG, since 2022, one hundred percent of my profits from art sales goes to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Feeding the hungry in Middle Tennessee spurs me to continue all of my artistic pursuits. Since the profits from my art sales go to this goal, I have titled this mission, Creation Feeding The People Through Art. My lifetime goal is for people to see God’s Creation in art and, hopefully, want to know Him better. Jesus was the perfect example of ensuring that people were fed, both physically and spiritually. I believe art can be an expression of spiritual food as well, drawing us ever closer to Him as Creator Of All Things and Satisfier Of All Needs.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Our society can develop a creative, productive ecosystem for artists and other visionaries in local businesses. Problem solvers and decision makers come from every background. Critical thinking from business people and artists working together through the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, can benefit all of us, both in health and economics. Educating Artists in how to promote their work and increase sales boosts the economy. People, please buy art! It will help you and your community.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: mary.morrison.5454
• Facebook: MaryAnnMorrison,Artist

Image Credits
Image Credit for Eco Print Clothes, etc. photograph: Melissa Long Krosnick and edited by Mary Ann Morrison. All other photographs: Mary Ann Morrison.