Mara Manning
My background includes a BFA in Painting and Drawing from UW-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in Education from Lesley University. I paint in a studio overlooking Lake Michigan. My paintings have been included in many juried exhibits in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. I have won purchase prize awards, a merit award, a donor award, and the opportunity to be featured artist at LSSU’s gallery. I have had solo shows at the Hartwig Gallery, Escanaba; Mr. Helsinki, Fish Creek and Telluride Arts District HQ Gallery. I am represented by Cappaert Contemporary, Egg Harbor, WI, Higher Art Gallery, Traverse City MI; The Summer Season Gallery, Houghton MI, The District Gallery, Knoxville, TN., and eclectic CB Gallery, Crested Butte, CO. (Closed as of March 2019)
ARTIST STATEMENT
My cold wax and oil paintings landscapes are images that speak to a sense of place, a vague memory of being there. Encoding is the crucial first step to creating a new memory. It allows the perceived item of interest to be converted into a construct that can be stored in the brain. My paintings seek to make time visible. Whether driving by in a car or moving in other forms of transportation, we pay attention to our environment in momentary glimpses. If a memory was laid down, then these “sights” remain in our subconscious having been converted into a construct. My works are a still snapshot of moments that I develop on the surface of the panel. I use sketches and photographs to inspire my work, but the paintings develop through a process which is largely organic.
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, Master of Arts in Education, December 1998
University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Teacher Certification Program – Art Education License, December 1993
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee – BFA Painting and Drawing, December 1984
Adjunct Art Instructor – Bay College, Escanaba Mi Fall 2018
Art Instructor – Ashwaubenon High School 1993-2016
