We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Margaret Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary Margaret below.

Mary Margaret, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Deciding to become a full-time artist this year was one of the scariest things I have done.

I was absolutely terrified, but I knew I had to try despite my fear. I am so glad I did because this year I have accomplished so much. I was on the cover of the San Antonio Current this summer, have been in multiple exhibitions including my very first solo exhibition that opened this month, have sold art all over the country, and worked with museums and institutions like Texas Public Radio teaching workshops and art programs.

I always tell artists and creatives that making work and showing it to the world is one of the most vulnerable things you can do. It took me a long time to be vulnerable and make art full-time but it was the best risk and decision I have ever made.

Mary Margaret, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a multidisciplinary artist and curator, and educator based in San Antonio, TX, and my practice includes photography, textiles, printmaking, performance, painting, and murals. I also teach artistic practices to all ages by doing workshops and private lessons and enjoy helping artists in my community improve their business skills as an artist. Even though I went to school for art, I had to learn how to make art a career on my own so I try to share that knowledge with others artists.

I have been an artist and maker since before I could remember. My parents say that I was always in my room making something and in middle school, they put me in an advance art class. I went on to study art in college at Sewanee: The University of the South located in Sewanee, Tennessee. In college, I mostly focused on film photography and sculpture. I had a really rough senior year. I had a hard time working on my senior exhibition and thesis because I experienced a lot of trauma that year and my mental health was at an all-time low. I actually failed out of college a couple of weeks before graduation and took some time off before I went back to school. I ended up graduating a year later but it was challenging to make art that semester. And I will never forget what one of my professors told me after graduation: “Mary Margaret, you make great work but I will be surprised when you make good, meaningful art again. I am sure it will be a long time” And he was somewhat right.

I took some time off from making art until COVID hit. I lost my job in the restaurant industry, had no income, and felt really hopeless. Then, a family friend hired me to paint a mural in June of 2020 (my first mural ever) and that changed everything. It sparked my creativity and I started making art again. I took the leap to be a full-time artist this year.

I have been focused on a process called cyanotype for quite some time. It is a photographic process that uses the sun. I can hand coat any natural material (water color paper, cotton, linen, wood, etc) with the cyanotype solution, lay flowers, objects or film on top of the materials, then put it in the sun and it makes the print! I have developed not only a large inventory of artwork, but also a line of wearable art. I love this process because it is so versatile and I can do it in my backyard, but I also paint murals, do mixed media art and sculpture.

I would love for potential clients to know that I am open to commissions all year around. I love making personalized work for my clients. It is one of my favorite things as an artist.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I want to add a trigger warning to this story. I mentioned before that I had a really rough time toward the end of my senior year of college. I experienced a lot of trauma that year and ended up being diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder. I didn’t really take that diagnosis seriously until June of 2020 when I had a manic episode that was so bad that I attempted to take my own life and ended up in the hospital. I lost my job when the pandemic hit and was in a really dark place. After I got out of the hospital, a family friend asked me to paint a mural in her backyard. I had never painted a mural before, but I said yes to painting a 100 ft by 7 ft one. It took months, but it lifted me out of that dark place and inspired me to make art again.

Making art gave me a purpose and in all honesty, it saved my life. I still struggle with my Bipolar diagnosis all the time and when I find myself in those dark places, I push myself to make art and find joy.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think it is important for society to find value in original/handmade items and that every penny counts for an artist. Instead of buying art from big department stores, where a lot of the time those pieces are overproduced and cheaper, I wish people would buy work directly from artists. One of the biggest issues I run into is that people don’t understand the time and effort it takes to make original art. About 95% of the art that I make is one-of-a-kind and will not be reproduced again, especially my clothing.

Even if people cannot afford my work at the time, it is so helpful when they learn about the process, tell their friends or family, or share my work on social media. It means the world to me, and the other artists I know, when a stranger reaches out to buy from my website or commission a piece because someone they know told them about my work.

Another thing that would help support is when other artists and creatives value their work. When an artist sells their work for really low prices, they actually devalue other artists’ work. It would be awesome to create a standard within the artistic community: when we all value our work and reflect that in our prices, we will all thrive because that will be the standard that society expects from us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marymargaretjohnson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbymoogs/
• Other: email: [email protected]