Bethany Mae is a painter, writer and poetess. Her work focuses on the intricacies of human experience, primarily surrounding the idea of Love. She believes that no matter our backgrounds or experiences it is everyone’s responsibility to do their part in creating more love. This starts with what we consume.

Bethany Mae holds a BFA from Syracuse University (2008) in Costume Design, her mother taught her to sew as a child, having come from a lineage of master dressmakers. Bethany Mae grew up collecting and selling vintage clothing.

She moved to Los Angeles in 2009, there working in the Film Industry as a hair and makeup artist simultaneously designing costumes for theaters.

Continuing working in salons as a cosmetologist until 2019, she left the film industry in 2015. She met a group of artists who rented a painting studio and found screen printing as a medium. In 2017, looking to learn how to paint a mural, she traveled to Kathmandu and painted 4 murals backed by Wall of Hope; an educational organization centered on ending violence toward women and children. Murals were painted on Australian Embassy, European Union Embassy, a girl’s school and Zoo walls with assistance from school children, passers by and rescued sex-trafficked women. 

In 2018 she traveled back to Nepal for a 3 month artist residency through MCube Gallery near Patan Dhaka. There, she taught art classes for children and adults simultaneously starting her Hand Mudra Project. 

Until 2019, she traveled throughout the West Coast from Baja Mexico up to Seattle in a van she named Myrtle, breaking down in Gilroy; the Garlic Capital of the World. 

One day she hopes to publish her past blogs, writings and adventures into a book.

In 2016, Bethany Mae invited all her art friends into her apartment and served them breakfast, encouraging them to share any ideas or works in progress. It was a hit and Breakfast at Bethany’s became a monthly event. It grew and evolved to be hosted in parks, restaurants and other public places. Currently, it has been reimagined as Gather: A Creative Salon with featured artists and partnering with a food justice program in Saint Paul. Minnesota.

Sales from StrawberryPropaganda fund artists. Everything is fair trade or commission based and discussed personally with each artist. Physical products are made by hand with love, intentionally spread to celebrate creative expression and cultural exchange of information.

The vision is long term and ever expansive, bridging art across the globe, sharing stories and knowledge and finding love in humanity. Bethany Mae has a passion to nurture creative expression through sharing food resources, community events and performances, workshops and classes and eventually she hopes to create a residency program for international artists in the Twin Cities.