Mary Anne Carter Embraces Her Quirks With Candy Colors and Explosive Patterns [Interview]

“I’ve never been able to blend in,” says Mary Anne Carter, who bears a conspicuous port-wine stain on her left cheek, a maroon-colored splash that marked her face even as a baby. “[The birthmark] fast-tracked my need for self-acceptance and my embrace of self-expression,” she continues. “I’ve gotten comfortable standing out.” Even without the birthmark, Mary Anne is hard to miss. Suited in chunky boots, fishnet stockings, rude color combinations, and animal prints of every stripe and feather, the Seattle-based artist softens the line between art and artist, extending her practice into daily life and vice versa. “In art, I’m always about candy-colored pastels and metallics,” says Mary Anne, who uses an assortment of materials — fabric, balloons, furniture, hand-pulled screen prints — to create immersive installations that look good enough to lick, right down to the ooey-gooey center. “In fashion, I wear a lot of black but am embracing more color as of late,” she continues. “In home décor, everything I own is thrifted, and by a bizarre, unplanned coincidence, most of it is orange. Which I love because orange is one of those colors people are a little bit scared of, and it’s fun to just wildly embrace it.” <a href="https://medium.com/@sourdough/mary-anne-carter-embraces-her-quirks-with-candy-colors-and-explosive-patterns-interview-2fd2c87f7bd9">Visit Now</a>