Artist StatementMary Laury Artist Statement
Mary Laury is a coastal Maine–based artist whose work is rooted in a deep love of place and a lifelong commitment to creative exploration. Working primarily in watercolor, she is drawn to Maine’s landscape—its rocky shores, blueberry barrens, garden blooms, and the watchful presence of gulls along the coast.
Mary’s artistic journey has always been intertwined with teaching and community. She served as Executive Director of Schoodic Arts for All, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating arts and culture in Downeast coastal Maine. Following her retirement from that role, she returned wholeheartedly to her first love: teaching watercolor painting and drawing. Since 1989, Mary has shared her passion for the arts through classroom instruction and creative retreats, guiding students with an encouraging, hands-on approach.
Now in a vibrant encore chapter of her career, Mary leads Acadian Arts Retreats and teaches throughout the region, fostering creativity in inspiring coastal settings. Her work is exhibited in various venues along the Maine coast, including The Farmstead Artists in Sullivan, Maine.
In addition to watercolor, Mary is also a pottery artist, finding joy in the tactile, grounding process of working with clay. Across mediums, her work speaks to a reverence for nature, a love of learning, and the enduring power of making art rooted in where you are.
207.632.2251
Executive Director: Schoodic Arts for All, retired
Mary Laury watercolorist from Maine.
Has recently retired from a career as Executive Director of Schoodic Arts for All, a non- profit organization celebrating the arts and culture in Downeast Coastal Maine.
Acadian Arts Retreats Instructors
Mary Laury
Mary Laury is an artist based in coastal Maine specializing in watercolors. She was the Executive Director of Schoodic Arts for All, a non- profit organization celebrating the arts and culture in Downeast Coastal Maine. She has now returned to her first love, teaching painting and drawing.
The dynamic nature and botanical subjects of Maine are Mary’s passions. You can see her paintings exhibited at various galleries along the coast of her home state. An experienced teacher, she has taught painting, drawing and dancing both in the classroom and in the field, for many educational programs. Back in 1999, Laury signed on to teach, painting, drawing and ballroom dancing at Schoodic Arts’ inaugural arts festival. A painter whose work was carried in at least six galleries, she went on to stage the group’s first visual arts show. She was hired as the organization’s first executive director. Laury says she will continue to teach painting and drawing
Organization membership
Schoodic International Sculptor Symposium, board member
Sunrise County Leadership Institute, graduate
Union of Maine Visual Artists
Paddling the Rapids, forum for Executive Directors
Downeast Non-Profit Network, group for Executive Directors
Maine Association of Non-Profits panelist
Juice Conference, Powering the Creative Economy, volunteer
Pathways to Education, committee member
Downeast PechaKucha, licensee
Image Gazer Film Festival, partner
Boards of Directorships
Hancock County Cultural Network
Schoodic International Sculptor Symposium
Galleries representing my work
The Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, Maine
The Commons Eastport, Maine
The Littlefield Gallery, Winter Harbor, Maine
Honors
Maine Alliance for Arts in Education - Arts Advocacy Award
EdGE Hero award – Youth mentoring
Maine Association of Non-Profits award – Non-Profit Excellence in Maine