“When you let go of something negative, you’re given a gift in return.” – Mary Beth
I ran into Mary Beth’s art exhibit at the Haleiwa Arts Festival on a sweltering summer afternoon on Oahu’s North Shore. I stood patiently waiting under the shade for the chance to talk to her, watching Mary Beth confidently sign her drawings for some very excited buyers while she joked and laughed with them as if she’d known them since childhood. I picked up a pamphlet describing her work. On it were samples of incredibly lifelike drawings of various exquisite women, including Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Marilyn Monroe, as well as other anonymous, lovely females. While I looked at each woman, I felt myself staring into their eyes as if they stood before me in the flesh. Their eyes met mine and held my soul captive for a moment or two, filling me with a sense of warmth and love as if they were telling me something, anything and everything all at once.
I was drawn to Mary Beth [no last name, as in Seal or Shakira] and felt compelled to know more about her. As a talented and hard working artist with a demanding schedule, she was difficult to pin down. But after a ridiculous rally of phone tag, I finally caught up with her and learned exactly why I was so intrigued by this woman.
As a child Mary Beth was a victim of abuse, and throughout most of her life remembers suffering from anxiety, severe depression and suicidal thoughts. As a young adult, she became addicted to crystal methamphetamine while living in California. She wanted to cleanup, so she moved closer to her family in Oklahoma and into a camper in her mother’s backyard, where she underwent drug rehabilitation for two months. During her 60 day treatment, she was restless and bored. She was accustomed to a very different lifestyle, one involving late nights and parties with heavy drugs, and she needed a way to occupy her time. It was then she began drawing, without any formal training, gradually discovering her gift.
After attaining sobriety, Mary Beth moved to Hawaii for a fresh start and began to work fulltime as a drug counselor for teens. At the end of the day, however, she was tired and sapped of her creativity. She cut her hours as a counselor and began waitressing part time, hoping to find more time for her newfound passion; but her workload was still too heavy. Throughout the years, she found herself in a repetitive lifestyle, unmotivated and therefore unable to create. She kept her restaurant job, quit her counseling position and replaced it by working at an art gallery, still seeking more time for her art, with the cycle thus repeating.
Mary Beth was often tormented by anxiety – a cruel sidekick of depression. She was afraid of crowds and people. She preferred staying home and did not want to go anywhere. In 1998, a friend offered Mary Beth a ticket to a Mariah Carey concert, and hoping not to disappoint, she reluctantly swallowed her fears and accompanied him to the show. They had seats in row 70, yet she remembers that she kept hearing something persistent telling her to move closer to the stage. She gave in. Along with her friend, they approached and were waved through by two security guards that were standing at different locations. They ended up in the 10th row. Once again, something nagging told Mary Beth to get closer to the stage, so they continued walking down the stairs, row by row. They reached the last security guard. Shockingly, he smiled at both of them and let them pass through to the first row. They were quite surprised to find two empty seats there. Mary Beth asked the other people in the front row if anyone was sitting in the empty seats, and they told her that those seats had been empty all night. Then, as they stood there enjoying the show from their new seats, Mariah Carey came down from the stage. She came up to Mary Beth and told the audience, “I need you guys to be quiet. She really needs to hear this.” She grabbed Mary Beth’s hand and told her, “You need to stop being afraid. Do the things you know in your heart you’re supposed to do. Trust in God and trust in yourself, and stop being afraid. I am living proof that dreams come true.” At that point, Mary Beth made a commitment to God and sought therapy to overcome her past.
Within a few days, Mary Beth’s neighbor, a little girl, approached her with a photo and asked if she would draw a portrait of her friend, Alyssa, who had just passed away. She wanted to give the drawing to Alyssa’s mother. Some days passed, and Alyssa’s mother came to thank Mary Beth for the drawing. Mary Beth told the mother that she hadn’t been doing her art much lately, and the only reason she did the drawing was because of this strange experience at the Mariah Carey concert. Mary Beth shared her bizarre story, and afterward Alyssa’s mother looked at her and said, “I know that Alyssa’s with God.” She told her that Alyssa was a huge fan of Mariah Carey, and she had front row seats to the show, but she died the night before the concert and was buried with her concert ticket and wrist band.
Since then Mary Beth has continued to draw, but it wasn’t until 2007 that she devoted herself fulltime to her art. With 10 dollars in her bank account, she quit her part time job at the art gallery and entrusted her talents to her faith. Today, Mary Beth’s success is continuing to grow like unconditional love. She has triumphed over her addiction and defeated depression. She is healthy, happy and her art is thriving. She is busier and more successful than she has ever been, and she is doing what she loves, what she is meant to do. Her art is a “gift inspired by divine guidance,” a gift she says was sent to her by God.
Mary Beth’s work is available at Kuloko Arts of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Britton Gallery in Haleiwa, Hawaii and online at marybethhawaii.com.
- Joy Kalke
