1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this series of work?
Mary Williams: This series came over the summer when I was selected by Matt Eaton to be a part of Red Bull House of Art Cycle 11. I wanted to include so many things, as I always have a head full of new collage ideas. So it ended up touching on many things that are important to me: feminism, empowering female portraits, mental illness, police corruption, guns as symbols of power as well as cats and their magnetic allure on the internet.
1xRun: Were these pieces part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did they fit into that given grouping?
Mary Williams: All of these pieces were in the final Red Bull show in Detroit. Despite their differences, they all fit together nicely on the wall. I feel they sum up the good and the bad of the past couple of years in this country.
1xRUN: What materials were used to create these pieces with?
Mary Williams: I have a preference for graphite on rives bfk paper, so usually my main subject is a drawing. I then use hand made art paper, scraps of paper, or things I have found to round out the piece and make it visually interesting. Sometimes I like to get really 3 dimensional. For example I have cut up my own sleeping pills to collage onto the surface of one of them. I do collect miniature objects, and then I can pull from my collection to make things more interesting.
1xRun: When were these pieces created and how long did they take to complete?
Mary Williams: Everything was made over the summer/fall of 2015. I began in late May and finished in early October.
1xRun: Anything immediate you would like us to highlight?
Mary Williams: You know, the piece that is least likely to get sold is probably the tampon and pad one, and I’d like to explain it a little. Having a period every month is one thing, but having men be completely repulsed by it for their whole lives is truly ridiculous. And the products women need to use every month is taxed by the government because they are considered ‘luxury items’. If men had periods, the government would develop trees that grew tampons so they wouldn’t even have to leave the house to get them. I was just tired of feeling disgusting for a week every month. It is an empowering piece.
1xRun: Tell us a bit about your process and how the idea and execution came about?
Mary Williams: I usually picture the finished piece in my head, then I go about creating it in real life. With collage, you have to work back to front. I then find everything I need and do the drawings that will be a part of it. Then I put it together, background to foreground.
1xRun: What do you feel is unique about this series?
Mary Williams: I feel the work of a depressed and anxiety-ridden pacifist feminist who loves cats sets me apart from, you know, all the men.
1xRun: Describe this series in one gut reaction word.
Mary Williams: 2015!
1xRun: We’ve done a lot of releases with you, but this will be your first print with us. Tell us a bit about why you wanted to go with this image.
Mary Williams: This piece was a favorite for me and the people who came to see the show. It touches on my love of art history and my love of cats. And cats’ love of boxes. People have commented that Mondrian’s work is kind of boring. Although I don’t feel that way, I thought it would be great fun to combine his empty white boxes with some celebrity and non-celebrity cats. I think it is a totally awesome parody, and it brings Mondrian into our current century!
1xRun: As we start a new year, tells us a bit about some of your favorite moments from 2015.
Mary Williams: I had all the fun last year. I was in an all ladies group show at Inner State with such fabulous ladies as Taylor White and Mimi Yoon back in March. In May I got to meet Shepard Fairey here in Detroit at his show and I was able to buy a print! Then I was selected to be in the Red Bull House of Art with a fantastic bunch of local artists and I got to make art all summer. In September my husband and I travelled to NYC to visit family and friends and I got to meet Grumpy Cat and Nala Cat (celebrity cats). There was the big mural festival that month too in Detroit which has transformed the whole Eastern Market area. Then October brought the Red Bull Show. I was able to add to my own art collection over 2015, which is terrific. Everyone needs an art collection.
1xRun: What are your plans for 2016? Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?
Mary Williams: I’ll be part of the 2016 Dirty Show in February. I will be showing an original collage and I will also have a few different prints in the print shop there. In the springtime I will be having a solo exhibit at the Catfe in Ferndale, Michigan, which is Michigan’s first cat café. So people will be able to come and have a little wine and enjoy some of my cat art in the presence of adorable, adoptable cats.
1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Mary Williams: Website – Instagram @mary.k.wiliams.76 – Facebook
-1xRUN