Let Me Introduce Myself

I just started Substack a couple of weeks ago, and I wrote this introduction.  I thought I would share it here.  This is probably the most in depth writing I have done about my artistic life,  It's kind of lengthy.  I'll warn you ahead of time.  

Hello. My name is Mary Ann. I am an artist and linocut printmaker from northern California. I live on the coast, up where the redwood trees grow. It’s a very beautiful part of California. Here I live with my husband, my two cats who are the inspiration for my cat artwork, Hobbs and Oreo, and my wonderful dog Willie. 

Like many artists, I was a creative kid. I loved drawing and painting and crafting. I took art classes in high school, then applied to two great art colleges in New York City, where I grew up, Fashion Institute of Technology and the School of Visual Arts. My parents were not encouraging me to follow an artist’s path, at all. But when I was accepted to both schools, they begrudgingly let me go to Fashion Institute. Alas, my time there was short. Only one semester. I had visited CA the summer before school started and decided I wanted to move there, and I did, six months later.

My first job when I arrived was at an art and frame shop, and it also had the nicest three room gallery in town. I sold art supplies, learned and then did customer framing, and for ten years, I ran the gallery. What an honor that was. I met many of the local artists, chose art for the exhibits, set up the shows and hosted the gallery openings. 

While working that job, I attended a local junior college and took art classes, drawing and painting mainly. That’s when I fell in love with watercolor painting. For twenty years, my main medium was watercolors. I painted regularly, two days a week. I loved it.

I started showing my art in local galleries regularly when I was twenty years old. Pretty much right after I started painting. My paintings started selling right away, and that gave me encouragement to keep following my art path. As my paintings matured, I applied to other galleries within the US, and started showing nationally.

After twenty years, I took a break. My dream of becoming a full-time artist was just not happening. Painting and trying to market my art in two days was frustrating and making me very unhappy. I decided to go get a “regular” job. That regular job just about killed me. In the end, they let me go, and that was the best thing that could have happened. I was free.

While working that “regular” job, I took a couple of jewelry making classes in metal smithing. I started making wire wrapped and beaded jewelry and started selling that on the side. I also started an online gem shop on Etsy, Adornajoy Gems. That was very successful for many years, until more and more sellers started flooding the marketplace.

About seven years ago, I decided to try, for the third time, linocut printing. Inspired by the beautiful artwork I was seeing on Instagram, I thought, why not. The first two times I experimented with linocut, I hated it. Too difficult to get a good print. But I have learned so much since that time. I’m not saying I love it all the time. It is a challenging medium. But more often than not, I am enjoying the process. 

Why cats? I adopted my first cat about twenty years ago. His name was Tiger. He changed my life. Since then we have had three other cats. As an introverted person, I connect to furry creatures more easily than people. I have a home based studio, and they join me there everyday. I feel, I am truly blessed to share my life with these beings. They inspire me, and are the subjects I like to recreate most.

Oh, one last side job. For the last five years, I have been doing consulting and co-instructing workshops on marketing art, or the business side of art, with local artisans through our Small Business Administration. That is a federal government agency that helps start and support small US companies. I love learning about marketing art and sharing what I know. I believe artists deserve to make money, and a living if they so desire, from their creative endeavors.

As for my own linocut art prints, I have mainly focused my attention to showing them online, though I do have a couple of local shops exhibiting them also. I have many international collectors of my linocut cat artwork, thanks to the internet. 

I am truly grateful for all of my followers, and the friends and collectors I have connected with online. I am grateful to be where I am right now in my art career. Thank you for reading my first longer form, blog post today.