Mary Ann Warner

Mary Ann Warner

Mary Ann moved to Taos in 1998 to pursue landscape painting after working as a freelance graphics designer and artist. She works in many mediums: oil, acrylic, monotype and artist books. You can view her website at .

Mary Ann is a storyteller and believes we can create our own mythology, hearten ourselves and others through symbol and story. This love of the narrative led Mary Ann to create her own version of contemporary folk art with red outlined forms and outside areas depicting parts of the story relating to the center artwork. In her "Red Willow Series" red willows rise from the bottom of the paintings and intertwine with the main artwork. After starting this series she learned that "Taos" is "Red Willow" in Tiwa (the language of the Taos Pueblo) which was very apt for these works about her journeys in the southwest, especially Taos. These paintings are acrylic on gessoed watercolor paper. She uses this medium to record her life experiences and dreams. These paintings are framed in wood frames with hammered tin with design elements taken from the paintings.

It was a natural step for Mary Ann to go from tinwork frames on her contemporary folkart and working with myth and symbols to working with silver and making jewelry, another form of empowerment. She uses different elements of the earth (semi-precious stones and minerals) in her jewelry to enhance our lives and health. The moon is a great inspiration. Her folk art always has the phases of the moon relating to transition. Her latest inspiration is her own intrepretation of the Northwest Coast Haida Indian moon/sun face design on silver cuffs and necklaces. She always says, "Every woman needs a moon on her wrist."Mary Ann shows contemporary folk art, monotypes and jewelry at Las Comadres Gallery, 505-737-5323, www.lascomadresgallery.com.

When not in her studio Mary Ann is out in the field painting. Nothing compares to plein air painting in the beautiful southwest. When she began landscape painting she liked to paint the alluvial plain, the transition of the mountains to the flat land. She called this cleavage. Her paintings are clearly an expression of her love for the earth, as if putting one's head on the mother earth's breast. Mary Ann shows this work at the Terrie Bennette Gallery, 505-758-3911, www.terriebennettgallerie.com.