Wall Sconce

Kanji Land

Egg

Fountain

Green Fish

Parrot Fish

Biography:

A native Oregonian, Mary grew up surrounded by tools and books. She was a quiet, determined and introspective child. She started Oregon State University with a Science major and Art minor. Various things happened eventually resulting in B.S. and M.S. Civil Engineering degrees, living in Eugene for a third time, becoming a full time artist and establishing Oregon Odyssey Artworks in 1997.

Mary’s expertise is with kiln-worked glass, but she is incorporating torch and furnace glass as she gains those skills. She is still surrounded by tools and books. Mary recently married fellow glass artist (and engineer) Chris Mini and she reads whatever Chris puts in front of her. They have an impressive collection of shops* and tools from which they make their living.

Mary was State President of Oregon Glass Guild and also President of the Eugene Chapter. She is on staff at the Eugene Glass School and teaches at Coos Art Museum, the University of Oregon‘s Craft Center, in her studio and other venues. Her work has sold at Glass Art Society, Eugene Glass School and the Liberty Museum (Pennsylvania) auctions and is in numerous galleries and private collections. She and Chris specialize in lighting commissions, mixed media pieces and installations.

*Metal shop, wood shop, fusing studio and a cold shop is coming.

Artist Statement:

I have always been fascinated by how water, mirrors, ice and glass can alter and obscure views of reality. The interplay of transparency, opacity and color play a pivotal role in my art.

Artistically drawn to both nature and abstracts, a recurring theme is fish. This interest arises from experiences involving transitions between shallow sunlit water and deeper dangerous depths; love and betrayal. Abstracts dissolve the remaining barrier between emotion and expression and are intensely satisfying to me, especially as a vehicle for color. Resonating to the interplay of hidden and revealed, implied and obvious forms are often realized as interior spaces and windows.

I enjoy working with the technical demands of glass while appreciating the immediacy and spontaneity of the medium. Often, the material will lead me down an unplanned path. My interest in abstracts and in fish, Nature’s abstracts, is well served by a flexible and experimental nature. A nature not satisfied by my former career as a professional Civil Engineer.

My personal motto “A new day, a new idea.” is better suited to an artist’s life.

Contact Information:

If you would like to contact Mary, please use the form below to send her a message. Mary also has her own website at http://www.maryhornig.com where you can see more of her work.