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Mary Ellen Scherl: Art with Backstories

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Mary Ellen Scherl: Art with Backstories

 

 

Introduction to Mary Ellen Scherl.   1:39 min.  Interview:  Raymond Elman.  Post-Production:  Lee Skye.  Music: Joseph Elguera.  Recorded:  12/19/2024, Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami.

 

MARY ELLEN SCHERL earned a B.F.A. in Design and Advertising from Washington University, St. Louis. After a 17-year career as an Art Director at two premier advertising agencies, Ms. Scherl transitioned from commercial art to fine art — sculpture, painting, installation photography, writing, and most recently filmmaking.

Body image, cancer, genetics and our fragile democracy are her narratives.

She exhibits widely in the U.S. and abroad, and often lectures on her art. Scherl has been reviewed in the New York Times and featured on NBC Nightly News for creating “Mamorial,” a 501(c)3 breast cancer initiative that offers healing and awareness through installation art. She has served as President of the Sculptors Guild in New York and as a member of the board of the International Sculpture Center in New Jersey and the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami.

— www.maryellenscherl.com

 

The videos below were recorded at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 8 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

 

STUDIO TOUR:   1:39 min.

A tour of Mary Ellen Scherl’s art studio at the Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami.  Music:  Julie Maxwell.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   1:12 min.

Growing up in Miami, what was your first exposure to art of any discipline?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:   2:49 min.

Did your parents support your desire to be an artist?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:   2:27 min.

Describe your transition from commercial art to fine art.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:    2:21 min.

Your current work has elements of abstraction, but have you mainly made figurative work?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:    1:16 min.

Working at an ad agency requires expressing the ideas of other people, which can destroy your inner voice.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:    1:27 min.

Who are some of your role models and mentors?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:    5:22 min.

Which of your series of work have been most successful from your point of view?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:    7:38 min.

Tell us about the evolution of your work following the “breast cancer” series.

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:    1:43min.

Can you tell us about some of your experiences with your birth family?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:    0:30 sec.

How did you feel as the puzzle of your birth family was solved?

 

RESILIENCE:    1:48 min.

Why did you move back to Miami and how did that impact your art?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:    1:39 min.

Have you had conversations with women soldiers about sexual abuse in the military , and how is that reflected in your work?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:    0:57 sec.

Tell us about Special Operations Forces Week.

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:    4:36 min.

How did you wind up on a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker in the North Pacific in the fall of 2024?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:    1:59 min.

What’s your favorite movie or television program?