Mary Bertoli

Sr. Mary is the creator of the nationally recognized Spirit of Mississippi series of original tissue paper artworks, greeting cards and prints. She lives and has her studio in Portland, Oregon.

Sister Mary was invited to minister in Mississippi in September, 1991. She joined other religious Sisters who had been in the Delta area for about 10 years, opening health clinics, working in education centers and responding to the needs in small towns all over northern Mississippi. Her experiences there significantly impacted her life and artwork.

“Although I’m an Oregonian, my art did not emerge until I went to Mississippi thirteen years ago”
Bertoli says. “The people deeply moved me and my own creative energy overflowed into images which caught their spirit. Now that I am back in Oregon, new images are beginning to surface. Exciting!”