About The Artist
Mary Jungels is a Theatrical Scene Designer, Painter, Muralist, & Photo-Assemblage Artist. Born and raised in Rock Island County, Illinois, she began her painting career in 1984 at the age of twelve, mainly working in acrylic & oil. Mary’s art education was supported & enriched by her family, school, & community when she won first place in the state of Illinois Reflections contest at age fourteen.
Her acrylic painting of Havasupai Falls toured the United States for two years & received a national honorable mention award. She studied painting at Augustana College the following year and won first place at Marycrest College in Iowa for her acrylic painting of the Colorado River & Grand Canyon.
After graduating High School in 1990, she moved to Normal, Illinois and earned a Bachelor of Science in Painting from Illinois State University. Mary began showing in galleries in 1991 and went on to design & paint a large-scale mural for the Normal Public Library Children's Department in 1996.
After moving to Eugene, OR in 1998, she introduced watercolor, collage, & photography as equally prominent mediums. In 2001, Mary took an internship at the Lane Arts Council & Coordinated the Arts & Communities Conference featuring 35 local & regional artists, musicians, & scholars. In the fall of 2001, Mary went on to pursue her MFA in Theatrical Scene Design at the University of Oregon. During her Graduate Teaching Fellowship she taught Technical Production, designed and painted for over twenty shows, and taught art at both Springfield Middle School & Brattain Elementary in the neighboring town of Springfield. During summers she designed for the Madd Duckling Children’s Theatre and taught scene design & painting courses for the Renegade Theatre Project’s Talented and Gifted program, and attended the Broadway Lighting Master Classes in New York City. Mary completed her MFA in 2005 with her Thesis for A View From the Bridge.
Shortly after graduating, she was hired by the University of Oregon’s School of Music as the Technical Director, Set Designer, & Scenic Artist for The Marriage of Figaro, a show that originated at Lane Community College & toured to Umpqua Community College. Immediately following, she was commissioned to design & paint an Italian countryside vista for the Lane Community College’s Globe Theatre. Later that year she started her own Interior Design & Painting business, Atmospheres LLC. She has most recently completed photo assemblage & graphic design work for Pfeiffer Vineyards, and is currently working on oil and acrylic paintings from her photo assemblage series, "Life in the Foothills of the Coast Range".
