About Mary Moores

Discovery

Growing up in the countryside of Frederick, Maryland, I learned to value the natural landscape and the diligent work ethic of the farming community. I studied drawing, art history, printmaking, painting, and sculpture at West Virginia University and Lacoste School of Arts in France, graduating with a teaching degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts emphasis in pottery. I spent several stints teaching, drawing portraits, and operating a successful pottery business until I chose to invest my creative efforts in staying home to raise a family.

Throughout my art career, I have always appreciated the connection between the mark of the artist's hand indicating how something is made. This led me to choose pastels as my primary method of expression. The pure pigment in the tool of pastels allows the most immediate translation between me and my surface.

As my children become more independent, I am renewing my efforts to make art.

Many of us lead busy lives full of digital distractions, so I strive to notice the overlooked beauty of everyday life. As a result, I see paintings everywhere I go. I am inspired by how the sun illuminates morning dew on my backfield, how deep smile lines around someone's eye tell the story of a happy life, and how traffic lights reflect colors onto the wet pavement on a rainy night. I tell stories with my art based on how light transforms objects into contrasting light and dark patterns. We need both of these opposites to better appreciate the other one. This is the same in life. We need light and dark to bring meaning to our shared human experience. In my paintings, I want to invite viewers to pause and see the wonder of the world around them, even if found simply in how light falls on an object. With art, I capture treasured memories of places and people that become family heirlooms.

Mary Moores

Abbottstown, PA

Statement