We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Frances Millet a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mary Frances , great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
As an artist, its inherent to take risks. Putting a brush to paper or hand to clay or needle to fabric is an act of discovery and bravery, not knowing the outcome. It’s even riskier to expose it to the world for everyone to love or hate.
To take a risk for me personally comes from my dad. He was a traveller, a job changer, a challenger and a supporter of my own discoveries. When I think of what makes a good parent, I think of my dad who taught us how to play with the ocean waves even though it meant getting tossed around underwater and a ton of sand in our suits. He threw us in the back of a Rambler and we went on vacations far and wide with no seatbelts, no car seats or gps and him smoking a cigar. Mom was the go-along but she also could be seen at the oceans edge in a lawn chair and an oversized straw hat yelling at my dad to go get either my sister or I when we weren’t coming up for air.
He went with me on site to painting murals on ladders acting as my spotter.
He was the happy-go-lucky guy who invented his own words and phrases much to our delight. A social guy, he made people laugh with his jokes that weren’t that funny but watching my dad tell it was the fun part, risking ridicule that never came.
My art runs the gamut from watercolors to upcycled paper jewelry to collage. I love to try everything, keeping my father’s sense of adventure with me every step.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Focus is not my strong suit. I am a try-er, a discoverer. Although I have worked in watercolor for many years and have coached many people in it in various venues, I also love collage and upcycling. Several shops sell my upcycled paper jewelry in the Capital District of NY.
Watercolor became my chosen medium after having to pass a course in it in college. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of not working very detailed, as in oil, as I was from the age of 14-17. I also took some classes from local artists and loved it. There’s something very freeing about watercolor. It’s immediacy, fast dry time and not having control is a delightful adventure. You don’t direct watercolor, watercolor directs YOU.
I have recently been enamored with painting quilts in watercolor, an homage of sorts to my quilter mother.
My other medium I happened upon are my upcycled paper jewelry. I work with all kinds of ephemera including old books/magazines, maps, old letters, gold or silver leaf on a light wooden base. The earwires are either sterling silver or gold plated sterling silver. I can spend hours cutting and collaging to create small works of wearable art. I also use collage to create images on watercolor paper with the same materials.
My exhibition schedule for November 2025 is jam packed! I have shows at the following venues:
Nov 2-Jan 2: Ballston library, Burnt Hills, NY. (35 watercolors)
Nov 14/15: “Grateful Exhibit”, Gallery 5, 236 State St Schenectady, NY
Nov 24-Jan 4: Watercolor Masters and Their Students, Tannery Pond, Widlund Gallery, North Creek, NY
Nov 29-Dec 29: “Silhouettes in Motion”, Ravens 5 Gallery, Schuylerville, NY.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that were most impactful in my journey are perseverance, support and marketing knowledge. I am nothing if not persistent! I will keep trying something until I’ve got it down. This applies to creating art as well as marketing. One has to have a thick skin to keep putting yourself out there, especially in the competitive art world. But my word of advice is: don’t give up. Keep trying to hone your art, try something new, add elements you’ve never tried before.
And, (This is big!) find yourself a group of supportive like minded people. I belong to the Women’s Art Community based in Cohoes but we have women artists from all over the Capital District of NY with all kinds of art from ceramics to painting to textiles. We meet once a month to discuss new opportunities, support our art endeavors personally and as a group. We are always looking for more artists, too.
And lastly, find someone to teach you social media if you’re not familiar. It’s the one thing you must know to boost yourself forward. Teach yourself apps like Canva or Photoshop. There’s many different ones out there to try. Don’t be afraid to try them or YouTube it to help. Get out there and pound that pavement!
Take a risk and join the great adventure that is art.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
If you read a series of books by one author, read Jen Sincero’s How to Be a Badass, How To Be a Badass at Making Zmoney and her guided journal. They are immensely helpful in setting your mind toward success. She writes in a no- nonsense humorous way that helps to get your brain to rewire itself and make your dream materialize.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Maryfrancesmillet.com
- Instagram: @maryfrancesmillet
- Facebook: Mary Frances Millet
- Youtube: Mary Frances Millet
Image Credits
Mary Frances Millet
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
