Mary was born and raised in New England. In the mid-1960s she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she has lived ever since. Her life has encompassed a variety of artistic, business and family activities, including textile and clothing design, publication production, book design, parenting six children and working as a professional artist.
Mary began her artistic career as a textile designer. After graduating from school she was mentored in the craft of hand-printing woodblock textiles and for several years she owned a small shop where she sold her textiles, clothing she designed using these textiles and other locally produced crafts. During the 1970s her focus changed to print media and she worked in publication production and designed books through her business, Publishers Bookworks.
In 1999—after having dedicated herself to her large and lively family for many years—she began fulltime studies at Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) with concentrations in drawing and book arts.
The summer of 2000 she attended 'Venice through Painting, Drawing and Collage' in Venice, Italy.
She received her BFA degree from OCAC in 2003. Since earning her BFA she has returned to her life as a professional artist focusing primarily on the medium of paper mosaic.
Her work has been exhibited in the Pacific Northwest, New York City, Massachusetts, and Italy. She is currently represented by Augen Gallery in Portland, Oregon and FA Francesca Anderson Fine Art in Lexington, Massachusetts .