The Bernice Coulter Templeton Gallery is proud to present “Mary Apple and the Beasties of Bean Cathedral” an exhibition of Mary Apples late works. Lifelong artist and master printer Mary Apple taught at Texas Wesleyan University from 1964 until her retirement in 1997.  She was a huge part of not only the Texas Wesleyan Art Department, but the culture and history of Texas Wesleyan as a whole.  Mary was a nature lover and an avid gardener, as evidenced by the meticulous lists she made in her journals of perennials, plants to attract butterflies, plants native to Texas, and anything else to transform her garden into “a valuable legacy of natural life” and “a sanctuary for a nature lover in the city”. 

From the combination of Mary’s love of nature and her artistic mind sprung ‘The Beasties of Bean Cathedral’.  This fantasy tale about magical nature spirits was meant to be an artistic rebirth for Mary, who at the time was working as a courtroom sketch artist, covering such cases as the infamous Cullen-Davis murder trial.  Solidifying the lore of the Bean Cathedral, which had been in the works for several years, may have been used as a reprieve, a way to heal after listening to courtroom discussions of the worst sides of humanity day in and day out.  It may have also been meant to reconcile Mary’s personal art and ideas with her public career, her teaching and her courtroom sketches.  It allowed her to psychically recover from the drudgery of day-to-day life and remain true to her artistic self.

“Beasties of Bean Cathedral” brings to life the world of nature spirits created by former Texas Wesleyan professor and artist Mary Apple.  Based on her own backyard garden, she considered turning these stories into a book in the style of an illuminated manuscript.  Though it was never made, several pieces about the Bean Cathedral, the Garden and its residents were created during the mid-to-late 1970s.  By reading through and transcribing sections of her personal journals which were recently uncovered in the University Archives, the lore of the Beasties of Bean Cathedral has finally been pieced together and brought to light for the very first time.