We recently connected with Mary Martin and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents were great at nurturing the creative tendencies in me and my siblings. They made sure we always had plenty of paper, paints, crayons, fabric, yarn and other supplies on hand so we could get creative whenever inspiration struck. I still have some of the creative toys they gave us like Spirograph and Twirl-O-Paint.
Besides providing creative supplies, they made sure we had experiences that sparked our creative imaginations. We made frequent family trips to the St. Louis Art Museum, and many of the local art fairs and craft fairs every year. Whenever I saw something at one of the art fairs that inspired me, Mom would help me gather the tools and materials I needed to create my own version of the art that inspired me.
Both of my parents were creative. Mom could knit and sew, and she taught me how to do both. Dad frequently took art classes at the community college, including ceramics, stained glass, and glass blowing. Their own creative paths inspired me to pursue my own.

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 background and context?

Since childhood I’ve been a maker, and in my teens, I became a church choir singer, but didn’t consider myself an artist until later in life. My first career was in the healing arts as a physical therapist. I initially worked in a hospital setting but went into private practice in 2003. My world changed in 2005 when a local artist, who was the patient of a co-worker, offered to give us art lessons. It was a pivotal moment that changed the course of my life. I continued to take lessons with this artist several times a month until 2011. She encouraged me to start exhibiting and selling my work, so I entered my first exhibit in 2012. The thrill of exhibiting my art in a local gallery convinced me that I wanted to pursue art as a career. I started my art business in 2013 part-time while I continued to work full-time in my private PT practice, with the intent to transition to full-time artist and retire from PT practice. Over the next few years, I continued to exhibit in local and national exhibitions, and in 2017 became a resident artist at Green Door Art Gallery in Webster Groves, MO. When the opportunity to purchase the gallery was offered to me, I saw it as the way into a full-time career in the arts. My husband and I bought the Green Door Art Gallery on July 1, 2019. Not only do I get to promote and sell my work at the gallery, but I have the joy of representing 35 of the finest artists in the St. Louis Metro region.

My collage and mixed media paintings explore themes of peace and joy using images from nature, verses from scripture and other inspirational texts, and sacred music. I use acrylic paints and mediums, sumi ink, and a variety of papers including tissue, watercolor and rice paper, and sheet music to create textured images. Choosing a scripture that illustrates nature singing praise to God is often the starting point of a collage. I incorporate the chosen verse into the art by inscribing it on the base layer of paper, and by mixing water blessed with the scripture into my paint. The mixture is then brushed or poured onto the chosen papers. The collage is built by tearing, layering, and adhering the various textured papers and sheet music to watercolor paper. I frequently layer sheet music containing lyrics about peace and joy under the images. My intent is to create a space with my art where viewers can experience a moment of peace and joy within themselves.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Spreading the messages of peace and joy through my artwork is what drives me to create my collage and mixed media paintings. Besides creating original works inspired by things I love, I’ve had the privilege of helping people work through the grief of losing a loved one by creating custom artwork incorporating images of favorite places, music, scriptures, and handwritten notes and mementos from the loved one.

The mission of Green Door Art Gallery is to serve the artists, art collectors and community of St. Louis in the following ways:
First and foremost, the gallery exists to promote, support and celebrate the artists of the St. Louis Metropolitan region. We represent 35 resident artists whose artwork is exhibited year-round, and we host 6 themed exhibits each year featuring 4-6 different guest artists. The gallery provides a space for teaching artists (both resident and guest artists) to hold art classes in different media (watercolor, drawing, mixed media, etc.) in our gallery classroom.

Second, we are here to serve our collectors and customers. The gallery is a great place for them to find the perfect artwork for their homes or workspace, and hand-crafted gifts for any occasion. It’s also a place where they can open the door to their creative side by taking an art class. With every new exhibit we host an opening reception where collectors and the community can meet the artists while they view the exhibit.

Third, Green Door Art Gallery provides an oasis of beauty and peace in a noisy and chaotic world for our artists, customers and the community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The year 2020 was a time for everyone to pivot. I has just purchased Green Door Art Gallery in July 2019 and only had 8 months of experience operating it when we went into lockdown in due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Since our customers couldn’t come to us, I had to find a way to bring the gallery to them. Following the lead of a trusted gallery owner, I started recording virtual tours of the gallery, highlighting the work of all of our artists and posting the videos on social media, our website and and in our email newsletters. With the help of my tech-savvy husband, Craig, I learned how to edit and create these virtual tours in iMovie. I also did a crash course in learning to use online platforms to broadcast a series of live “Meet the Maker” interviews that allowed customers to interact with our artists in real time when they couldn’t meet them in person at our gallery events. We gained customers around the country because of these virtual tours and live online interviews. Would I have created these virtual tours and online interviews if the pandemic hadn’t happened? I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that I am grateful for the way unforeseen circumstances made me stretch and grow to acquire a skill set I didn’t have, and it showed me I have what it takes to push through adversity and thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marymartinartstudio.com and www.greendoorartgallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marymartinartstudio/ and https://www.instagram.com/greendoorartgallery/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryDMartinArt and https://www.facebook.com/GreenDoorArtGallery/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-martin-2017a023a/

Image Credits
Allison Norfleet-Bruenger Mary Martin