Mary Barczak's life looks a little different. Her biological family hails from New York City and was heavily involved in mathematics and human rights. However at 16, she was put into foster care in Columbus, OH. Once out of the foster care system, she went to college at Ball State University, home of the world's favorite artist, Bob Ross. She graduated with a BFA in photography and a minor in marketing.

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Barczak's earlier years were spent dissecting traditional fairytales and the story structures of character personality traits. Showing nationally with her photography of hand crafted paper masks and blindfolded adults going about their everyday life as characters from these traditional tales, she then turned her attention to painting.

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Barczak works in themes that are based in the concepts on anonymity and sonder, the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. She weaves philosophy, storytelling, and art together to create the Nones, blanked face creatures with emotive black bodies. Their scenes speak to those who find their own stories and emotions in them.

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