Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Elizabeth Phillips and Eddie Phillips.
Mary Elizabeth, Eddie, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Growing up as an only child, I spent long hours entertaining myself. My dad would bring huge stacks of used white paper home from his office so that I could use the backs for my endless drawings, designs and maps. Although I didn’t realize it then, almost all of my creations involved the intersection of art and science: patterns found in nature, maps of ‘ideal’ human habitations, color combinations that would look perfect in a garden. But art was a risky road to navigate, so I chose science as a course of study through college and graduate school, focusing on plant population ecology.
When I met my husband, Eddie, in July, 2000, we agreed to a mutual leap of faith and embarked on an art career together. He had grown up doing specialty paint finishes, which was a perfect launching point for a business. When we first started, about 90% of our work was faux finishes, murals and other decorative painting – whatever kept the lights on. Soon we discovered the flexibility that working with steel offered and invested in a welder. Next came a kiln to add the color and light that glass offers our metalwork. I can’t imagine what might be next 🙂
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Most of our pieces are informed by and are intended to enhance the human experience of “being in our surroundings”. It asks “how do I related to this space?” or “how has the beauty found in a particular space changed me, shaped me?”. Unsurprisingly, much of our private work circles back to plants and gardens. We create everything from public murals and giant kaleidoscopes that make the public pause, look around, and become more aware of where they are in the moment, to small canvases featuring flowers picked on a sticky Texas summer day. Our hope is that we can place art everywhere – from the expected (your living room wall) to the unexplained (inside an Altoids tin left on a public park bench) to spark a renewed enthusiasm for whatever space you are in at the moment.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Ideally, society will agree on a different metric to determine one’s fitness for survival in this world that isn’t measured by “financial success”. But until that day arrives, we all have to eat – so dive into the gig economy and take as many paying jobs as you can find as close to your studio/home as possible. Avoid debt of any kind, because it creates a prison that limits your time to create. By saying ‘no’ to as many traditional indicators of ‘success’ as you can (the new car, the upgraded phone, the larger home or apartment), you will not only help sway the system but you will avoid the debt that demands a perpetual income from non-creative sources. Meanwhile, turn everything you do into a work of art: waiting tables? draw on your customers’ receipts; painting houses? leave a painted doodle along with a business card when you finish the job…
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
We have been so lucky that the Historic Downtown Mansfield community has embraced our vision for creative place-making and has allowed us to use the neighborhood as a canvas. We’ve done over 30 murals within their six square block space – some tiny and some huge – as well as a few sculptural pieces. They are free for residents and visitors to enjoy 24/7 and make for amazing photo backgrounds!.
We also have a “micro-gallery” in the front office of Dr. Robert Smith’s optometry practice called “Lil’ Blue Goat”. It is about 12 x 15 feet and has often been cited as a pioneering effort in retail, historic revitalization, and space sharing initiatives. It was the brain-child of Ann Smith, after having attended a Texas Downtown Association seminar, and is open whenever their office is seeing patients as well as Thursday and Friday evenings and during special events downtown.
Contact Info:
- Address: Blue Goat Garden and Glass Studio
200 W. Kimball Street
Mansfield, Texas, 76063 and
Lil’ Blue Goat
126 N Main Street
Mansfield, Texas, 76063 - Website: lilbluegoat.com
- Phone: 817 395 2588 text only
- Email: maryphillips8888@sbcglobal.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilbluegoat/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lilbluegoat/
Image Credit:
M. E Phillips
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