Mary Hooper Hirst was born and raised in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for two years, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, graduating with a B.S. in Sociology.
After graduating, Mary lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 17 years, moving from there with her husband and three daughters to New Delhi, India, then from there to Bowling Green, Kentucky.
While living in Milwaukee, Mary became a student of Abe Cohn, a well-known Wisconsin potter who had his studio there at the time. She remained studying with him for 12 years. Abe Cohn has a studio in Fish Creek, Wisconsin now called The Potter's Wheel. She learned all aspects of wheel throwing there, with a special emphasis on glaze techniques, which she remained interested in and known for throughout her artistic career.
She is a past member of the Wisconsin Designer Craftsmen and exhibited numerous places, including the State Fair and other shows. During the summer, her work was exhibited at the Galleries in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. She was chairman of the Ellison Bay Craft show for five years, which featured the best of Wisconsin's potters and weavers. This festival is still being held today.
Mary studied art metal and arc welding at the Milwaukee Vocational school and was featured as the first woman welder by the Milwaukee Journal.
Later, Mary resumed her ceramics studies at Western Kentucky University, under the tutelage of William (Bill) Weaver. Then, in January of 1993, she and several other potter friends became Associates at the Pots Place downtown on Fountain Square, which is now an evolving Co-op Studio and Showroom for the artists.
She was involved in several shows there, an Art Poster Show, a print show featuring Gail Singer, Lars Bo, and Warrington Colescott, and a watercolor collage show featuring paintings and collages by her mother, Helen Powell Hooper. You can see some of the Mark and Hooper Print Collection online. These prints are located at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Other shows Mary has showed in include Women in the Arts 1992 and 1993, the Rahr-West Women of Visition show, The Trans Financial Bank Show, and the Capital Arts Juried Show. She has won numerous awards for her art and pottery.
Mary Hooper Hirst's work is displayed at The Pots Place, but is not for sale.
Her contact information is:
Mary Hooper Hirst, P.O. Box 50816, Bowling Green, KY 42102-4116. You can also use the Contact Page.
Her daughters, Helen Hooper-Hirst, and Betsy Sheppard can also be contacted via their information here on the website as well. |
