Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Elizabeth Anderson
Hi Mary Elizabeth, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all began when I was 6 years old and got my first sewing machine for Christmas. At the time, my Great Grandmother was still with us so she taught me the basics of working the machine, alterations, and drapery and pillows as well as how to knit and crochet. After her passing, my Grandmother on my dad’s side took over the learning process so that I would be able to make my own patterns for things as well as elevate my level of skill and craftsmanship within my pieces. I was probably 8 or 9 when I started making my own clothes for myself and family friends’s children. I was very fortunate to be able to attend a school with an excellent arts program from 1st-12th grade which gave me opportunity to explore pretty much all mediums of art you could think of. This program gave me my first taste of working in the world of 3 dimensional art. It wasn’t until college that I established myself as a ceramic artist, prior to that I usually just worked in whatever mediums I felt like based on the day. After declaring my major, I was full steam ahead in the ceramics field and began experimenting with glaze chemistry, forms, firing techniques, and even created my own glaze using my service dogs cremated remains.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Even though I have always been passionate about the arts, not everyone has seemed to share my creative vision or my style. I think one of the hardest things about being an artist is accepting that not everyone is going to like your work or your art style. While having a specific style is very helpful for the artist, it narrows your audience of people who would typically buy the product so when producing bodies of work, it is hard to balance personal style and what your general audience typically is drawn to. Personally, I try to create something that anyone would like but also specific pieces that are targeted to a specific audience so that there is a little bit of variety for all kinds of people and styles.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I would consider myself to be a pretty versatile artist in terms of why I am capable of producing but I would say my specialty/passion would be either sewing or ceramics. My proudest work is probably the pieces I made using a glaze I developed out of my retired service dog’s ashes. I love being able to create pieces of beauty out of sad moments in order to heal and find closure in tough topics. I would say I am known for my apparel and pottery as well as my trash4sale account which is basically a hodgepodge of all my little crafts and side hobbies I like to do that are available for sale to the public. I am very proud of my versatility as an artist and my ability to work in all sorts of mediums. It’s not too often that I will meet other artists who have multiple mediums of work they produce on a regular basis.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I think something a lot of people don’t know about my work is that I’m self taught as far as my metal smithing, jewelry making, swimwear design, and logistics of swimwear construction goes. It takes more trial and error this way but I find it much more rewarding to figure out the process on how something should work by experimentation rather than being told how to do it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trash4sale_?igsh=Y3FlbWpkdnJ4N3Q%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@trash4sale_?_t=8oqa1fsP2Uc&_r=1
