Pages Navigation Menu

Mary Benton: Art + Environmental Activism

Posted by

Mary Benton: Art + Environmental Activism

Introduction to Mary Benton. 1:35 min. Interview: Beverly R. Muzii.  Post-Production: Beverly R. Muzii. Music:  Jerome Chauvel from Pixabay.  Recorded in Miami Shores, FL  3/27/2024.

 

 

MARY BENTON is a portrait painter, sculptor, and jewelry designer who put down roots in Miami Shores after 30 years of living all over the world. Concerned by the “business as usual” and “there’s nothing we can do about (climate change and sea level rise)” attitudes she encountered after moving to South Florida, she founded Bound by Beauty with a group of friends as a means of creating paradigm shifts in people by opening their eyes to the beauty and importance of nature through butterflies and the magical process of metamorphosis. Bound by Beauty designs innovative programs to transform neighbors into nurturers of nature and is constantly seeking new ways to open people’s eyes to the importance of conserving vital native flora and fauna in order to pass on to future generations a natural world that can sustain them.

The videos below are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 12 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:39 sec. 

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:01 min

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:08 min. 

Who are some of your role models and influencers?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  3:30 min.

What inspired you to become an artist?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  11:46 min.

What inspired you to become an environmental activist?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  3:50 min. 

What can individuals do to affect positive change in the environment?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:02 min. 

Becoming sustainability conscious can seem daunting to many people. Where should we begin?

 

UNDERSTANDS THE AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE: 4:08 min. 

How can art be used to inspire social and environmental change?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES: 8:41 min.

Talk about some of your initiatives aimed at K-12 students.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:17 min.

Your motto is “Connect. Educate. Transform. Replicate.”

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:26 min.

How do you use art in your projects?

 

EMPATHY: 1:02 min.

You were a close friend and neighbor of the late Miami Herald editor, Nancy Ancrum, who had a lifelong love of biodiversity and nature.