All aspects of art-making help me slow down, from taking notice outside to spending time in my studio, communing with the materials and process. I feel my best in this state of calm and focus, experiencing the sensation of my true north, my home.
‘Welcome’ and ‘home’ are two of my favorite words, especially when combined. If someone greets me with a ‘welcome home’, I feel not only wanted, I feel wanted in a place of familiarity, trust, and love. It’s special to hear those words.
Nature will never utter a word to me literally, of course, yet I can still feel spoken to and at home in the out-of-doors anyway. Because to me, feeling at home is the feeling of connection and this is what I express in my woodblock prints. Whether my subject is a simple flower by the roadside, a grand star-filled sky, or an elusive patch of fog, all can be spectacular and worth paying attention to.
My hope is that through my art, nature might speak to you too. Our spinning blue planet is home to us all. Our time here is all too brief. Isn’t it amazing that we are even here?
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Mary Brodbeck (b. 1958) is a Michigan-based artist recognized for graphic depictions of the Great Lakes watershed region. Inspired by her love of the out-of-doors and the aesthetics of Japan, her work in both print and film (Becoming Made, 2014) has garnered her acolytes and inclusion in many workshops, exhibitions, and collections throughout the USA and abroad. CV
Hudson Gallery (Sylvania, OH)
Copper Country Community Arts Center (Hancock, MI)
Ox-Bow House (Douglas, MI)
Synchronicity Gallery (Glen Arbor, MI)
* Original Woodblock Prints * Guest Lecturer and Instructor * Documentary Film * Note Cards *
©2025 Mary Brodbeck Productions LLC
