MARY JOHNSON

Ever since I was young, I have had a passion for the creative process. That visual interest is what has defined my career and what continues to motivate me in my daily life. I love to piece things together that are visually appealing and that tell a story. I look to create things that are meaningful to me as well as to others who surround me in my life. Whether it is documenting a moment in time as in a photograph, laying out a graphic composition, or creating a visual montage, the thought is to be impactful in some way. Many times, the art that I do is motivated by the purpose of sharing it with others. The butterfly has become a common theme in my art as it has become a symbolic image for me. It signifies many things such as hope, freedom, weightlessness, curiosity, mindfulness, and a presence of another form of being. When I see a butterfly, I see that it is beautiful, that it is delicate and curious. It will come beside me or flirt away. It is on a journey which makes me mindful of my own. Many times, I feel it is my mother letting me know that she is still around me. As my medium is more digitally based, I have used the butterfly, along with various other images of family, friends and photographs I have taken in nature to create photo montages via my computer. It has become an expressive outlet for remembering the past, documenting the present, and using the artistic tools I’ve learned in a personal way.