Märī (pronounced MAH-rye) is a narrative artist and illustrator of two award-winning children’s books, The Old Mainer and the Sea and The Canoe Maker.
Born and raised in Alaska, Märī moved to Portland in 1994 to attend the Maine College of Art. Maine has been her home ever since. She now lives with her family on a quiet pond in Windham. Märī’s commissioned work can be found in private collections across the United States. She exhibits her work at Gallery 302 in Bridgton, Maine and online in her Etsy shop: MahRyeArt. Märī's narrative paintings are meant to spark a story within the soul. They are a form of visual storytelling and personal journaling. She creates flowing compositions using symbolic imagery and rich colors. Mining her memories and dissecting her dreams, she weaves her work with myth and metaphor. Märī's work reflects her experiences hiking, camping, stargazing, and swimming beneath the full moon.
While I continue to explore my personal experiences symbolically in my paintings and illustrations, I encourage people of diverse backgrounds to connect and respond to my work in their own, unique way, celebrating our shared human experience.
As psychologist Carl R. Rogers said, "What is most personal is universal.” ~ Märī