Mary Edna Fraser shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Mary Edna, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Any time I make art, whether painting or batiking or printmaking, I enter a zone where time does not exist. It is my Zen and escape from the world.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an environmental activist artist currently working to fight for two landscapes dear to my heart by painting large scale works on location, using social media, and making movies to educate folks.
SC Highway 22 Extension is a costly and unnecessary highway, and proposed routes would destroy hundreds of acres of protected wetlands in the Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve and Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge. It would also cut through farmland in Dillon, Marion and Horry counties, and through communities like Bucksport and Burgess, compounding with existing flooding issues.
Dominion Energy’s plans to build one of the highest capacity gas plants in the nation on the shores of the Edisto River and a new interstate pipeline through the ACE Basin, a $2.5 billion gas mega project. This would emit a massive amount of greenhouse gas emissions, putting SC climate goals at risk and harming local populations with hazardous air pollutants. The new interstate pipeline would impact communities, wetlands, rivers, and forests across the Southeast, threatening the watersheds of the Lowcountry.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
The day I flew with my father to meet Dr. Orrin Pilkey, Duke Professor Emeritus now deceased, to discuss photographing barrier islands on the Outer Banks, changed my life. We published two books together and had over 100 exhibits. Adventures to threatened environments broadened my horizons. When selecting landscapes to batik, we argued over which images best depicted the science. With Pilkey’s science and my art we engage the viewer intellectually and emotionally.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
My son Daniel died when he was 3 years old with a twisted intestine, a birth defect no one could have known. After that I only engaged with people I trusted and who made me feel safe. I listen to my gut and have wonderful relationships with the dozens of folks who do business with me.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. I have no ability to hide my feelings or intentions.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I am archiving 3,000 works of art and their provenance. It is a huge investment of time and money but when I leave the planet and become stardust, my legacy will remain intact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maryedna.com
- Instagram: maryednastudio
- Facebook: Mary Edna Fraser Studio
- Youtube: MaryEdnaFraser
- Other: I have a band Lime and the Coconuts on Facebook
limeandthecoconuts.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Rick Rhodes Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
