Mary Heebner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Heebner
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Heebner in 2019.
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| Born | April 19, 1951 Burbank, California, United States
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 1981, M.F.A. 1977) |
| Occupation | Artist and author |
| Spouse(s) |
Steven E. Craig
(m. 1972)Macduff Everton
(m. 1989) |
| Children | 1 |
Mary Doretta Heebner, born on April 19, 1951, is an American artist and writer. She is known for her beautiful paintings and unique books that combine art and words.
Early Life and Learning
Mary Heebner was born in Burbank, California, on April 19, 1951. Her father, Walter, was a talented musician and songwriter. He also worked as a leader at big music companies like RCA Records and Capitol Records.
While attending Providence High School, Mary worked part-time. She was a studio assistant for the famous artist Corita Kent. Corita Kent taught at Immaculate Heart High School. Mary Heebner says that Corita Kent greatly influenced her art career.
Mary went to the University of California, Santa Barbara. She earned her first degree, a B.A., in 1973. Later, in 1977, she received her M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) from the same university. During her studies, she worked closely with her mentor, artist William Dole.
Art and Books
Mary Heebner's artwork is displayed in many important places. Her pieces are part of private and public collections. These include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art. Her work is also at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. You can find her art in libraries too, like the Library of Congress and the British Library. Many universities, such as Stanford University and Columbia University, also own her art.
In 1995, Mary Heebner started her own publishing company. It is called Simplemente Maria Press. This company creates special, limited-edition books. These books are unique because they combine her paintings with her writing.
Mary has worked with many writers on her artist's books. She has created books based on works by William Shakespeare and Pablo Neruda. Other writers she has collaborated with include Sienna Craig and Stephen Kessler.
A big publisher, HarperCollins, released two of Mary's artist's books. These books featured her paintings alongside poems by Pablo Neruda. The poems were translated by the Scottish writer Alastair Reid. These books were published to celebrate Neruda's 100th birthday. The first book was called On the Blue Shore of Silence. A second book, Intimacies, followed in 2008.
Exploring Ancient Worlds
Mary Heebner is very interested in ancient history and art. In 1995, she wrote and illustrated a book called Old Marks, New Marks. This book connected her art style to ancient ways of making marks.
In 1997, the French government invited her to visit the Lascaux cave. This famous cave has ancient cave paintings. It had been closed to the public since 1963. Her visit inspired a series of paintings. It also led to an artist's book titled Scratching the Surface: a visit to Lascaux and Rouffignac. This book then led to another invitation for her to revisit Lascaux.
Mary's travels to Angkor and Ayutthaya in Southeast Asia also inspired her. These trips led to large art installations. She created pieces like "Bodhisattvas at Ayutthaya" and "Ancient Presences." She also made three artist's books: Full Lotus, Bayon: Sketches from Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom, and Silent Faces/Angkor. These works are part of her series called Geography of A Face: Khymer.
Her repeated trips to Patagonia in Chile resulted in a book, a series of paintings, and an artist's book called Unearthed.
Other Works
Mary Heebner has created many other interesting works. Intimacy: Drawing with Light, Drawn from Stone explores how drawing works. It uses watermarks, her own writing, and images based on old Roman sculptures.
Cassandra is a special hand-painted book that folds out like an accordion. It refers to Greek myths and includes poetry by Stephen Kessler.
Her Arctic Trilogy features her own writing and images. These are based on her trips to the Arctic in 2017 and 2024.
Mary's interest in old sculptures also led to a series of large paintings. These are known as the Venus Paintings. They were shown in 2013. One art expert, Dr. Bruce Robertson, said that Mary "miraculously rescued these sculptures from the museums." He felt she returned them to their original world, full of change and atmosphere.
Personal Life
Mary Heebner lives in Santa Barbara, California. She is married to photographer Macduff Everton. They got married in 1989. She also has a stepson.
Before this, Mary was married to Steven E. Craig. They met in high school while working at Universal Studios Hollywood. They were married for 13 years and have a daughter together.
