Mary McEwen

Born and raised in Alaska, I have a deep "home" connection to the natural beauty that surrounds us here in Juneau. However, my travels, education, work, and life have taken me around the world, and I take inspiration from those experiences as well.

After completing my undergraduate degree in art from Seattle Pacific University, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa, and worked for government and non-profit organizations before returning to school to earn a Master’s in Public Health at Yale University. I worked as a public health planner and research analyst for the State of Alaska. I was born in Sitka and have called many other places home around the world, but currently live in an 1890s miners’ shack in downtown Juneau with my husband and two daughters.

Despite my art degree, I had not considered art as a way to make a living until recently. I considered my creative works strictly for fun and personal fulfilment on the side of a very different professional path. I am relishing the opportunity to now focus on things that make life beautiful to look at; however, I aim to retain my motivation to promote equity and justice that powered my career in public health.

I engage in a wide variety of both “art” and “crafts”– including painting, photography, sewing, knitting, embroidery, macramé, and digital/graphic design. Currently I am painting mainly with watercolors on paper, as doing art with my kids has me improvising with materials such as crayons, markers, and water-based paint as we work together. I patchwork and quilt my own designs using modern fabric and colors on a 1950 Singer Featherweight machine. I also enjoy discovering and completing secondhand projects others have left unfinished. I try to bring a modern and fresh aesthetic to my work, in color, design, and materials. I enjoy exploring how to represent the natural beauty of the region in a way that feels authentic but modern.

Instagram: marykmcewen