Mary has always been involved in some sort of creativity. She’s been sewing since she was about 8 years old and owned a bridal shop for 20 years where those sewing skills were used extensively. Upon retiring from that career, Mary began with art lessons, starting with drawing and graduating to pastels and oils. Photography was also a great hobby at this time and Mary focused on taking macro photos of desert weed blossoms.
After embarking on another career, a travel agent for The Travel Connection, the only time for artwork became weekends and Mary discovered the gourd. She started with basic woodburning and colored stains and then began power carving. Most of her training came from books, website videos, her sister-in-law and a few classes over the years. Most recently, Mary began assisting her son, Dan Curtis, in his woodturning endeavors.