Marie looks at the piece of wood and sees what it needs to become. Her work does not emanate from photos but by images in her memory from being raised near nature in the bush country of British Columbia. McDonough explains, “I take off what doesn’t belong. Then I touch the piece with my hands and take off more until it feels right.”
Marie went to Clark College in Dubuque, Iowa to study advertising layout and design. She taught oil painting courses at Northeast Iowa Technical Institute. While living in California, Marie attended Long Beach City College and studied visual arts and sculpture. Her studio is called, “Marie’s Wood Carvings.”