Mary Bayer grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. She studied at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Art in the early 1970's and continued her studies in an evening program at Washington, D.C.'s Corcoran School of Art in the 1980's. After working many years in government as well as the business community of Washington, D.C., Mary moved to the Bay Area in 1986. She began to explore ceramic sculpture as well as sculptural welding in the 1990's and became a full time artist working out of her home studio in El Cerrito, California. An extension of Mary's art is the home sculpture garden she designed and maintains featuring her creations as well as the stone work of her husband, Ted.