Meet South Carolina-based Artist Mary Pobanz
Mary Pobanz is a watercolor artist and musician based in Summerville, South Carolina. She’s the artist behind Little Mary Prints. You can learn more about her on Instagram.
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Where are you from originally, and what brought you to your current city?
MARY POBANZ: I was originally living in Orem, Utah working on my Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design. I moved just this past month to Summerville, South Carolina where my family resides. I have been in South Carolina a whole three weeks! I need time to heal mentally and be with my family.
How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist?
I call myself a Catholic Christian Artist because it is God Who gave me the charism of art and music. God has made it clear that He uses my hands for painting and playing piano, as well as my voice with singing. How do I know this? He has confirmed (as He always does) through His children that people feel the love of God through my artwork and musical gifts. All because of the Lord! My personal mission is to continue using my charisms for the love of God. He will use everything. Most of the time, people are touched by God when I’m singing my least favorite song, or when I’m completely flat in singing it! Even some paintings I am not a huge fan of myself—God uses it to show how much He loves us. I won’t stop unless He tells me to.
Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
I have found support in my vocation as a Musical Artist directly in the Holy Mass! This is where I use my musical charism the most. I have found support with my painting, specifically “Queen of Peace” through my own family, parish and my spiritual director!
I began to send this specific painting to my immediate family, who’s lives were touched, and to Priests. They magnified the Lord through the painting that I didn’t want to stop sending it. So I began to send prints to my parishioner friends who supported me, my spiritual director who spread it to her friends and her parish, and then I proceeded to open an Etsy shop to sell the painting in different sizes!
How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
It would have to come from the parish leaders to welcome in more artists. I think having a call for artists and having parish workshops where artists can join together and connect would help! Even side projects—I am sure priests and bishops are always looking for someone to help design something they have a vision for! My own parish priest from my last parish needed a designer for a small project! Let us pray for our priests and this welcome for artists in the parish.
How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
Everything begins in prayer! I hope and pray that artists of faith will have the courage to share their artwork without fear of being welcomed or not. Jesus and His disciples were not always welcomed for spreading the Gospel by their words—but what did Jesus say? “Shake the dust off from your feet and move on...” We need to spread the Gospel by our love and our charisms of art! Whether it is accepted or not, that is the risk of spreading the gospel for the love of God!
What is your daily spiritual practice?
Every day, if my schedule permits, I go to Daily Mass, pray the Rosary, and set aside time for mental prayer—either on my own in my room or in Adoration. I have a spiritual director I meet with on the phone every month! I got in touch with her through one of her spiritual directees who happened to be my Bible study leader! I’ve had her as a spiritual director going on three years now. God always provides. The last major pilgrimage/retreat I’ve been on was Medjugorje and the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Colorado. I hope to attend the Vigil Project’s Music Retreat this October in Louisiana! Those are “big retreats,” my favorite retreat is simply Adoration and going to daily Mass!
What is your daily artistic practice?
My daily artistic practice isn’t always daily. I’m not a perfect artist where I am painting every single day—I have a job and things I have to attend to with my family. When I start paintings, I take my time. I start them when I am inspired by the Holy Spirit, or if I see something I really want to try. Sometimes I can get them done in one sitting (if I do it early enough in the day). If it is a painting I desire to put a lot of my heart into for the Lord, I do a little bit each day with my schedule permitting. Sometimes I put paintings down for days on end until I touch it again! That’s when I come out with the my proudest works. I recommend being patient, and intentionally putting in time. If you’re tired, put your paintbrush or pencil down and go to bed. If your mind is tired and you can’t focus, relax and turn on a show or go outside. If you don’t like where the art piece is going, just, keep, going...it will turn out beautifully. If you aren’t inspired, don’t force inspiration. If your soul is restless, go and pray. Always pray before doing any sort of art form and let God work through you. This is how we can practice our craft daily the best we can!
Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist.
The days I was most living out my vocation as a fine artist was when I was praying for the grace to paint Mother Mary, and then actually beginning it. It wasn’t until nearly a year after I prayed for this grace that I started the painting. When I did, this is when living it out began, but when I completely lived it out was when I started sharing it—this is what it means to live out the vocation of artistry. The days I am singing in Mass and praying God uses my voice is when I am living out my artistic vocation. The days I don’t hide my light under a bushel is when I am living out my vocation.