Artist, Missionary Mary Proctor
Folk Artist
Mary started painting in 1995 and by 1996 had a large collection. She once asked, “Lord, why am I doing this?” and felt the Lord said she was on a mission to share a message in homes and hearts. Mary creates art to honor women and encourage men to respect them. Her work has been featured at the American Visionary Art Museum, on the cover of Raw Vision, and is part of collections nationwide. In 2005, she was featured in the Smithsonian's "On Their Own" exhibit. She was raised by her grandmother, whom she watched sew and quilt. Mary’s doors evoke a childhood memory of two women quilting. Ms. Nancy, a white woman, and her grandmother, a black woman, were spending hours quilting together on the porch—a rare occasion at the time. A happy memory also includes realizing that Ms. Nancy was so engrossed in quilting that she didn't notice Mary and her sister picking scuppernongs from her tree. Eventually, Ms. Nancy would raise her head and say, “That’s enough, girls! That’s enough!” The red, white, and blue symbolize that, regardless of skin color—red, white, or blue—we are united by our shared passions.
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