Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Pohlmann.
Mary, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My love for drawing began when I received the child’s version of an animator’s light desk – complete with traceable images of Snow White and Barbie. I was five. During my colorful punk years, I studied Art and Theatre at incarnate Word College in my native San Antonio, TX.
After moving to Miami, I started creating realistic color pencil florals. But after a commission of 25 pieces within a 9-month period, I suffered nerve damage in my hand and stopped drawing for about five years. Then as it so often does, “Life” threw me a few more challenging experiences and I found myself starting completely over. Those “Life” experiences left me with stories to tell and things to work out – I was in serious need of some Art Therapy! With the help of yoga and swimming, I was able to once again hold a pencil to draw. All this led to the very personal artwork I create today.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Once Upon A Time the Brothers Grimm Went to Art Therapy…
What happens when society wants us to act like beauty but we feel like The Beast? Or when one realizes their Magic Mirror has a crack? (Or two?) ‘Happily, Ever After’ wasn’t quite what was promised but I wasn’t looking to be rescued. So, taking pencil in hand, I began to draw.
Inspired by fairy tales, Japanese Woodblock prints and pop-surrealism, my allegorical portraits invite the viewer to look directly at the messier bits of Life: broken hearts, imperfection, impermanence and the deep desire to no longer please or play nice. My quirky, slightly annoyed and somewhat contrary heroines maneuver through kingdoms of un-kissable frogs with attitude and humor.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
I know this is going to sound cliché but be true to who you are. Don’t be embarrassed to create the kind of art you want to create. For a long time, this genre of art was referred to as “lowbrow” art. It is now often referred to as pop-surrealism but I have embraced the lowbrow term even if just for spite. ( ha-ha!) Go to museums, go to movies, read books, look, draw, paint, sculpt and study, study, study – even if you have to study on your own because the university you are attending does not offer courses in the genre of art in which you are interested. And then create with your own voice. Also, EVERYONE and their kid brother will have an opinion about your work. Take from their opinion what is useful and discard what is not. Only you can determine that for your work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marypohlmannart.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marypohlmannart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryPohlmannArt/
- Other: www.society6.com/marypohlmann
Image Credit:
photos of artwork by Mary Pohlmann
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