MARY HARRIS CUTTING/WHITE WINGED WOLF WOMAN IS PRIMARILY SELF TAUGHT AND HAS BEEN PAINTING IN ACRYLIC, MIXED MEDIA AND WATERCOLOR FOR 25 YEARS. HER PAINTINGS ARE FULL OF HOPE AND VIBRANT COLOR. WITH THE INTENT OF ENTRAINING THE VIEWER TO THE UNIVERSAL CORDS OF LIFE, THESE LIVELY EXPRESSIONS ALLOW THE POSSIBILITY OF A MORE REMOVED AND COSMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF ONE'S SELF.
IN HER WORDS:
"THOUGH I DABBLED IN THE 70"S, MY PAINTING WAS SPONTANEOUSLY BIRTHED DAYS BEFORE MY 33rd BIRTHDAY IN 1984 AS AN EVER BURGEONING TIDE OF DESIRE THAT I COULD NO LONGER IGNORE. I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A SET OF CRAYOLA WATERCOLOR PAINTS AND THE SMALLEST ART PAPER I COULD FIND (BIGNESS SCARED ME!). THE FLOOD GATES OPENED UP AND I JOYOUSLY PLAYED WITH LOTS OF COLOR AND STYLE TO THE DELIGHT OF MY NEWBORN INNER CHILD.
OVER THE YEARS MY PAINTING BECAME INCREASINGLY ARCHETYPAL, REPRESENTING MY OWN LIFE’S METAMORPHOSES AND PASSAGES, BEING BIRTHED ONTO THE CANVAS OR PAPER TO A PERFECTION OF TIME WHICH IS VERY PERSONAL, BUT OFTEN REVEALS A STRONG COLLECTIVE PARALLEL. THE DISTILLATION OF EXPRESSION AND SYMBOLOGY BRINGS A MAGIC THAT I WISH TO CONVEY TO THE VIEWER."
and....
"MY ART EXEMPLIFIES MY CONTINUING ROMANCE WITH THE GODDESS, FEMININE PRINCIPLE IN ALL ITS MAGICAL ASPECTS. THOUGH MY LIFE HAS BEEN CHALLENGING, I TEND TO PAINT MY POWER AND MY JOY. I LOVE COLOR. IT'S SENSUAL AND BRINGS FORTH THE INNER CHILD TO PLAY. IT CONNOTES THE WILDNESS AND PASSION THAT WE ALL HAVE AND THAT EXISTS IN NATURE AND MULTIDIMENSIONALLY. MY SERIES OF GODDESSES, ABSTSRACTS AND SEMI-ABSTRACTS REPRESENT THE HOPE OF A WOMAN WHO, HAVING FELT THE FULL EXTENT OF BEING OUT OF MY POWER, FOUND ARCHETYPES FROM THE ANCIENT GODDESS AND INDIGENOUS CULTURES THAT GAVE ME MY SENSE OF POWER AND THE RECLAMATION OF MY SACRED FEMININE ESSENCE. AN ESSENCE THAT EXISTS WITHIN EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. I AM ENCHANTED WITH THE SHAMANIC, SHAPESHIFTING REALMS OF EXISTENCE AND ACCESS THESE THROUGH RITUAL, CEREMONY AND MANY FORMS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES. I HONOR THE ANCESTORS AND THE SACRED WITHIN ALL LIVING THINGS."
RESUME
MARY HARRIS BEGAN PAINTING IN MIAMI BEACH WHERE HER FIRST SHOW PRODUCED A RIBBON. SHE THEN MOVED TO THE REVIVIFIED SOUTH BEACH WHERE SHE HAD SEVERAL SHOWS, HUNG HER WORK IN 2 GALLERIES, AND HER PAINTINGS GRACED THE MENUS OF THE TRENDY STRAND RESTAURANT FOR THREE YEARS.
MARY HARRIS MOVED TO SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA IN 1999. IN HER 4 YEARS THERE SHE HAD 11 SOLO SHOWS AND 7 GROUP SHOWS. HER PAINTINGS APPEARED IN SEVERAL LOCAL PERIODICALS INCLUDING THE SENTINEL'S ARTIST'S CORNER AND ONE WAS CHOSEN FOR THE POSTER FOR THE "ART OF HEALING".
WHEN HARRIS MOVED TO THE MOUNTAINS SHE BECAME A MEMBER OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN ART CENTER. FOR 2 YEARS SHE ALSO CURATED THE ART SHOWS FOR SURVIVORS HEALING CENTER, A LOCAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
HER HEART HAD CALLED HER TO EUGENE, OREGON FOR SOME TIME AND SO SHE MOVED THERE AND FELT AT HOME. SHE JOINED THE LONG STANDING ARTISTS' COLLECTIVE STORE "CIRCLE OF HANDS" UNTIL IT FINALLY CLOSED. HARRIS WAS A MEMEBER OF DIVA (DOWNTOWN INITIATIVE FOR THE VISUAL ARTS) AND SELLS HER CARDS AND PRINTS IN SOME LOCAL STORES IN EUGENE.
SHE ALSO PARTICIPATED AT THE SATURDAY MARKET, THE COUNTRY'S OLDEST ONGOING OUTDOOR ART SHOW. HARRIS HAD 2 SOLO ART SHOWS AND SEVERAL GROUP SHOWS WHILE IN EUGENE.
THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO MARY HARRIS MOVED BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE SHE GREW UP, FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS. SHE HAS HAD TWO SOLO SHOWS; ONE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY AND ONE AT THE MILLER BRANCH LIBRARY.
SHE WAS AN ARTIST AT THE HOLIDAY MARKET AT THE CENTER FOR ARTS AND EDUCATION IN VAN BUREN AND SHE ENJOYED PARTICIPATING IN THE ANNUAL WEEKEND "ART IN THE PARK" LAST YEAR.
SHE ALSO IS A MEMBER OF THE FORT SMITH ART CENTER/MUSEUM WHERE HER 2011 CALENDARS ARE FOR SALE. MARY HARRIS IS ENJOYING EXPLORING THE ART WORLD IN THIS AREA AND SHE HAS ALSO BEGUN TEACHING ART CLASSES TO CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
HER ORIGINALS AND PRINTS CAN BE FOUND IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.
PLEASE NOTE..........IF YOU ARE LOCAL AND INTERESTED IN TAKING ART CLASSES, PLEASE CONTACT MARY HARRIS.
ART CLASSES AVAILABLE FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN. THANKS!
