Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Edna Fraser.
Hi Mary Edna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I lived in Savannah, my brother took me flying over the Georgia Sea Islands and it dawned on me that I could take aerial photographs and create batiks on silk from the designs. The series is “Islands From the Sky.” My brother and I have flown most of the East Coast in our family’s 1946 Ercoupe vintage plane which was my grandfather’s. Daddy was a master pilot and we grew up flying like people here grow up messing around with boats.
Batik is an ancient method of dyeing cloth using wax and dyes. I started painting oils in 2012. Going on location and wearing a 35-pound pack I climb mountains and fire towers for the bird’s eye point of view.
My meeting of scientists has taken me into many adventures. Orrin Pilkey and I collaborated on two books. A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands with Columbia Press was followed by Global Climate Change: A Primer with Duke University Press. Pilkey is Professor Emeritus at Duke University specializing in earth sciences. We have had over 100 exhibits together.
I also work with outer space NASA and a deep-sea excursion on the Atlantis.
Creek By Creek at the City Gallery through May 8 with sculptor and friend Jeff Kopish focuses on environmental activism with Charleston WaterKeeper, Coastal Conservation League and SC Environmental Law Project. We have over 300 artworks in this exhibit and 4 movies.
In the Fall the Aiken Rhett house will feature FLIGHT… oils and silks will tell the story of what enslaved people had to go through to seek freedom. Poets Marjory Wentworth and Drew Latham will add their insights.
This summer, I will finish a series called Contemporary Encounters. Three women artists adventuring into the wilderness of Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks share their experiences with art. This traveling exhibit is available to museums in those regions. Mary Edna Fraser, Patricia Griffin, and Marissa Vogl express their backwoods travels as a refreshing visual experience.
Panoramic aerials painted with oil on canvas and batik on silk evoke patterns of geographical formations. “Flying over and photographing threatened landscapes… terrestrial, terraqueous, and mountainous is my life’s work. Sunrise to sunset painting adventures in wilderness areas are my passion.”
My studio is on James Island Creek surrounded by old-growth camellias and azaleas. My husband John Sperry is fondly known as the Dr Babe being a pediatrician. We love our acre of land. I can see myself painting on the dock the rest of my life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The loss of a child age 3, Hurricane Hugo, and divorce have been my hardest struggles. Professionally having my batiks considered fine art rather than craft has been challenging at times. Now I am a Master Silk Painter and the recognition helps. Moving into oils has been extremely fun and it is like a new box of crayons.
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?
My work is that of an environmental activist artist. I specialize is going to remote places threatened by mankind and making art that exemplifies the individuality of location. I am a collaborator and have used individual talents in Charleston to highlight areas we hold dear… I am most proud of the friends I have met along the way who were willing to share my vision…actors, musicians, poets, scientists, dancers, artists, writers…. My life is full of wonder and I feel each artwork is a prayer for the planet. The ability to fly over vast areas and turn the moment into visual poetry sets me apart from others. I have a very sweet team of folks who help me reach my goals and I am thankful for their hard work. I have been fortunate to have a close-knit family who has supported this creative path from the 1970s to present.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
As a musician and singer, I have performed since the 2nd grade. My band Lime and the Coconuts has been entertaining folks for 14 years and we are toe-tapping hip-swaying fun. My Solo Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Aerial Inspirations in 1994-95 featured my batik of Hurricane Hugo made me a question on Jeopardy… Which Smithsonian Museum featured this artwork by Mary Edna Fraser.? Of course, no one would know this factoid!
When not serious I am very silly!
Pricing:
- Magnet $5 to $15, Books
- Silk Scarves $175
- Batiks and oils $400 a square foot
- Metallic canvas and paper prints $125 and up
- Architectural installations & commissions welcome
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@maryedna.com
- Website: Maryedna.com
- Instagram: Maryednastudio
- Facebook: Mary Edna Fraser Studio
- Youtube: Mary Edna Fraser
- SoundCloud: Lime and the Coconuts
- Other: DeleteApathy.com
