Mary Evans is an interdisciplinary contemporary artist and educator working across sculpture, textiles, painting, drawing, experimental video, and multimedia installation. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Practice from the University of Oregon and a BFA in Printmaking from The Evergreen State College. Her studio practice is rooted in material exploration and an interest in the ways ordinary objects, craft processes, and images can carry personal and cultural meaning.
Her work moves between intimate, tactile processes such as sewing and textile construction and larger sculptural and installation-based projects, allowing materials to become as much a way of thinking as a way of making. Mary has been sewing since the age of five and often incorporates secondhand fabrics, clothing, and found materials into art-to-wear fashions. Her recent work includes a life-sized horse sculpture created for display in a local community center.
As an educator, Mary has taught visual art to students from Pre-K through sixth grade and to adult learners, and has experience working with students across a wide range of ages, abilities, communication styles, and support needs. Her teaching experience also includes working with autistic adults with significant support needs. She has worked extensively in arts education and curriculum development, creating hands-on art experiences that encourage students to develop their own creative voices through thoughtful guidance and exploration. She is especially interested in creating welcoming spaces where people of all ages and abilities can explore materials, trust their ideas, and experience the joy of making.
Programs
Workshops
Sew It Yourself!: An Introduction to Sewing & Textile Construction (Workshop or Pop-Up)
Learn the foundations of sewing and textile construction through hands-on projects! Students will learn basic hand- and machine-sewing techniques while designing and creating functional textile projects that reflect their creativity and personal style.
Students begin with basic hand-sewing techniques they will use throughout the workshop. Once comfortable with hand sewing and sewing safety, students are introduced to the sewing machine and begin designing and constructing a custom project like a tote bag, doll, pillow, or hair accessory. Along the way, students learn how individual pieces of flat fabric can be measured, cut, joined, and shaped into a functional three-dimensional object. Depending on time and experience, students can add details such as appliqué, pockets, button-and-loop closures, or other embellishments.
The one-time workshop is designed as a short, accessible introduction to sewing. In a 90-minute to 2-hour session, students will learn basic sewing skills, including how to safely use sewing tools, thread a needle, tie knots, and sew a simple hand stitch. Students will complete a small, manageable project that allows them to practice these skills and leave with something they have made themselves.
Best For: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: 1-3 sessions or even a pop-up event!
Painted Fabric: Painting & Textile Art (Workshop or Pop-Up)
Students will create their own painted fabric designs, experimenting with both intentional patterns and spontaneous marks, working with symbols and silhouettes, and textile composition. Depending on the age, interests, and length of the class, painted fabric can become a finished textile artwork, banner, flag, wall hanging, patch, or wearable piece.
The project encourages students to think beyond the traditional canvas and consider how an artwork can be created on, with, and through fabric. Students can combine painting with appliqué, stitching, or other textile processes to create a finished piece that reflects their own creative vision and personal style.
Best For: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: Can be up to 3 workshops or a pop-up event!
Choose Your Own Adventure: Interdisciplinary Art Exploration
This is a flexible, interdisciplinary art experience in which students can experiment with the chosen medium. The program can be developed specifically for the interests and goals of each classroom and can incorporate drawing, painting, sculpture, 2D mixed media, 3D mixed media, textiles, or collaborative installation. The project can be built around a particular theme, artist, material, or classroom curriculum, or it can simply give students the opportunity to explore what they are most interested in making.
The one-time workshop focuses on a single art project, selected by the school or developed with me based on the group’s age, interests, and goals. I can offer suggestions for projects and materials, or the school can request a particular medium or type of artwork. In a 90-minute session, students are introduced to the chosen medium and complete a focused project from beginning to end.
The goal is not to teach one specific medium, but to give students experience developing ideas, experimenting, problem-solving, and making something that is genuinely and uniquely their own.
Best For: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: 1-3 sessions; Customizations: Anything you need!
Residencies
Trash to Treasure!
Students will learn how to take an idea from an initial sketch all the way through to a finished three-dimensional artwork. Using recycled materials to construct an armature and papier-mâché and paper clay to build up the form, students will explore how sculpture is constructed, shaped, and refined. The class is designed for students in 2nd–12th grade, with the project scaled to suit the age and experience of the group. The process can also be adapted for other audiences, including younger students and adults.
Best For: Grade 2 and older, Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: 5-7 sessions. Customizations: In community settings, this program can be expanded into a multi-week, nonconsecutive-day program.
Choose Your Own Adventure: Interdisciplinary Art Exploration
This is a flexible, interdisciplinary art experience in which students can experiment with the chosen medium. The program can be developed specifically for the interests and goals of each classroom and can incorporate drawing, painting, sculpture, 2D mixed media, 3D mixed media, textiles, or collaborative installation. The project can be built around a particular theme, artist, material, or classroom curriculum, or it can simply give students the opportunity to explore what they are most interested in making.
The residency version of this highly customizable program offers much more room for exploration and can take several different directions. The residency can be a deeper dive into one medium, giving students multiple sessions to develop a more involved project and build skills over time. Alternatively, each class can introduce a different medium or artistic process, giving students the opportunity to try a wide variety of approaches, such as drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, textiles, mixed media, or installation.
The goal is not to teach one specific medium, but to give students experience developing ideas, experimenting, problem-solving, and making something that is genuinely and uniquely their own.
Best For: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: 5-7 sessions.
Sew It Yourself!: Sewing & Textile Construction
Learn the foundations of sewing and textile construction through hands-on projects! Students will learn basic hand- and machine-sewing techniques while designing and creating functional textile projects that reflect their creativity and personal style.
Students begin with basic hand-sewing techniques they will use throughout the workshop. Once comfortable with hand sewing and sewing safety, students are introduced to the sewing machine and begin designing and constructing a custom project like a tote bag, doll, pillow, or hair accessory. Along the way, students learn how individual pieces of flat fabric can be measured, cut, joined, and shaped into a functional three-dimensional object. Depending on time and experience, students can add details such as appliqué, pockets, button-and-loop closures, or other embellishments.
In the residency, students have more time to build confidence with both hand and machine sewing, learn about measuring and cutting fabric, follow or create simple patterns, and work through the process of designing and constructing a larger textile project such as a personalized tote bag. Additional sessions allow students to explore techniques such as appliqué, pockets, closures, embroidery, and basic mending, while giving them more time to experiment, troubleshoot, and develop their own designs.
Best For: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Intergenerational; Duration: 5-7 sessions. Customizations: Sewing machines can be brought to your space (for a small additional fee).
Teaching Artist Statement
“To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin.” -Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks
My goal as a teaching artist is to create an environment where students feel respected, seen, and heard, and where there is room to experiment without the pressure of having to get everything “right.” I approach teaching through the same spirit of experimentation that guides my own studio practice. I work across many materials and processes, and I encourage students to see materials as opportunities for exploration rather than simply following a set of instructions. A mistake that doesn’t go as planned can become the beginning of an entirely new idea.
My teaching combines technical skill-building with choice and self-expression. I provide students with enough structure to develop new skills while leaving room for individual interests, interpretations, and approaches. I also introduce students to contemporary and historical artists so they can see the many different ways artists work, think, and make meaning. I want students to understand that there is no single way to be an artist.
My experience as a practicing artist is an important part of my teaching. I know firsthand that making art involves troubleshooting, failure, revision, persistence, and sometimes a complete change of direction. I model that process for students and encourage them to become comfortable with uncertainty and with learning through experimentation.
Art can build flexibility, problem-solving skills, persistence, confidence, and a sense of personal agency. I want my classroom to be a place where those qualities can grow, a space where students feel comfortable taking risks, developing their ideas, and discovering what they are capable of making.
“Children do not enter a classroom with the same experiences, abilities, confidence, or needs. Mary has an extraordinary ability to read a room, recognize what individual students need, and adapt in real time without losing sight of what they are there to learn. There are very few teaching artists I have worked with who are as skilled at meeting children exactly where they are while simultaneously communicating, I believe you are capable of more. Mary doesn’t lower expectations for a student who is hesitant or struggling. She finds another way in. She offers enough support for the student to take the next step and enough freedom for that step to belong to them. With Mary, students learn skills and concepts, but they also learn that their choices matter, their ideas have value, and there is more than one way to solve a creative problem. To me, that is one of the most important things arts education can give a child.”
Rhonda Coleman, Groundwork Arts
