Jul 23, 2018
Mary has reveled in an artistic life, performing harp, dressing
sets for NY film productions, and now using public art and writing
to mobilize for climate action. A National Endowment for the Arts
grant recipient, Mary may be the first harpist to perform in both
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where she worked with
composer John Cage, and the subway stop under Bloomingdales. As a
student leader, she sang along with Pete Seeger during the 10-day
apartheid divestment sit-in at Columbia University.
Mary later studied at Eastman School of Music and University of
Oregon’s School of Music and performed widely, including solo
appearances at major music festivals. She toured the original
interactive musical “The Incredible Earth Circus” in schools and
was commissioned to write six children’s plays, three of which are
still regularly performed.
In 1996, Mary began to write about conscious parenting in an era of
rapid global transformation. She uses several forms–social
commentary, essays, interviews, reporting, and interactive art–to
advocate for a healthy, just, and fun world. Her writing has
appeared in The Sun, EcoWatch, Common Dreams, Mothering.com,
Spirituality & Health, Oregon Quarterly, The Oregonian, The Folk
Harp Journal,and ISLE (Interdisciplinary Studies in
Literature and Environment)a quarterly journal published by
Oxford University Press.
Mary co-founded Eugene’s chapter of the international climate
action group 350.orgwhere, as
Creative Director, she specializes in collaborating with families
and young people.
On the home front, Mary is grateful to be married to a
physicist/math instructor who can, among other fine things, help
the teens survive Algebra.