Tracey Maras loves to learn. And teach. She is a retired occupational therapist, highly accomplished pastel artist and engaged volunteer at Henson Robinson Zoo. She teaches pastel painting and is a volunteer animal handler with the zoo’s education department. Getting people to experience things they wouldn’t have done otherwise makes Maras happy. That might involve encouraging someone who is terrified of snakes to touch a snake. . . or pick up a pastel to create a work of art for the first time.
Maras grew up in Taylorville with a love of the outdoors and an affinity for animals. “Nature is my happy place,” says Maras. She also has a lifelong interest in art. “A lot of times people hear the word art, and they glaze over without recognizing the benefits,” says Maras. “It feeds the soul, stimulates our brain, fosters our creativity and is an outlet to our emotions.”
Tracey Maras teaching a workshop “Unleash from local color” at the DuPage Art League.
Nature and art go hand-in-hand for Maras. She lives in the country, south of Dawson, surrounded by woods and wildlife. She is a keen observer and avid photographer. She always has a large camera nearby and photographs the world around her. She has attended numerous photography workshops and amassed 75,000 photos. Her photographs, however, are in search of something to paint.
Pastels are pure pigments compressed into stick form. The sticks are used in a wide variety of mark-making techniques. Layering many colors is a key element of pastel painting. Styles range from highly realistic to abstract. Maras loves the versatility of painting with pastels, which ensures she will never be bored. She wants viewers to enjoy looking at her paintings from across the room and then come up close and discover subtle variations of color that are possible with pastels.
Maras’s first foray into art was pen and ink drawings. She picked up a pastel for the first time in 1998. Tired of working in black and white, she wanted to experiment with color. She tried acrylic and oil painting but discovered pastel pencils were a lot like drawing. The Springfield Art Association (SAA) was a steppingstone in her journey to become a highly accomplished pastel artist. Around 2000 she dropped in at the SAA open studio once a month while she was still working full-time. Most of the people were pastelists. Sue Scaife facilitated the studio and became Maras’s first mentor. She attended annual workshops by nationally known instructors brought in by the Illinois Prairie Pastel Society. Maras says her skills are a result of “20 years of learning from anyone willing to teach me something.”
Maras is a member of the Illinois Prairie Pastel Society and national and international pastel organizations. She has been juried into regional galleries, art fairs and solo shows and has work in seven galleries. She has published articles in the Pastel Journal as well as blogs, videos and tutorials.
“Breath in Blue” 11×11” original pastel painting by Tracey Maras. Photo courtesy of Tracey Maras
Maras is a teacher at heart. She started teaching 10 years after she started dabbling in pastels. Because she initially was self-taught, she wants people to learn pastels without having to take so long as she did. Maras teaches a weekly class on Wednesday afternoons, plus five or six workshops annually. Her classes include beginners and experienced artists. Her most recent workshop was on how to paint metal and glass.
Maras is a volunteer with SAA Art Synergy, a program in which community members create an original work of art under the guidance and mentorship of a local artist. The resulting works of art are auctioned off at a live event (this year on Nov. 8.). Maras is a masterful teacher, breaking down the process into understandable components.
Maras always enjoyed art but didn’t see it as a realistic career path. She is grateful to her dad for pointing her in the direction of occupational therapy. She first got involved as a volunteer during high school. She has a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of Illinois and a master’s in health service administration from Sangamon State University. She worked at St. John’s Hospital for 16 years, including 11 years as supervisor of occupational and speech therapy, followed by 10 years at the Midwest Rehab outpatient clinic. Prior to retiring, she taught for five years at Lincoln Land Community College in the occupational therapy assistant program.
Maras, holding a python, is a dedicated volunteer at Henson Robinson Zoo.
Occupational therapists work with individuals who have had an injury or illness that gets in the way of activities of daily life. Artistry is part of occupational therapy, according to Maras. Creating a molded splint for an arm is one example. Creativity and artistry were also elements in drawing blueprints and working with carpenters to design and modify spaces for people to be as independent as possible.
Retirement allowed Maras to devote more time to her other passions. A baby great-horned owl fell out of a tree on her property five months after she retired. She contacted the Illinois Raptor Center in Macon County for advice. That led to 11 years of volunteering weekly to help prep food and socialize animals that couldn’t be released into the wild. She stopped during COVID and due to family obligations but got back into volunteering last November at Henson Robinson Zoo. In addition to assisting the education department with taking animals out to schools and senior centers, she also painted murals on a cinderblock building at the zoo, combining her skills in nature and art.
Maras’s approach to painting with pastels mirrors her approach to life. She constantly wants to learn, improve and share with others. “A vacation isn’t a vacation unless I’ve learned something,” said Maras. She doesn’t do anything halfway. Research, observation and practice are fundamental to her interest in nature and the quality of her paintings.
Maras exudes a positive outlook on life. She was shy growing up but discovered that if she could get excited about something, the fear went away. She also has an adventurous attitude. “I won’t know until I give it a try,” says Maras. She is applying her love of nature and art to help others get out of their comfort zone, have fun, find something they are passionate about and continue to learn.
Natural Forces
Pastel paintings by Tracey Maras and ceramics by Scott Day
Oct. 4-26. Included in the exhibit are 47 paintings by Tracey Maras.
Opening reception: Oct. 4, 6-8 p.m. Gallery talk: 6:30 p.m.
David Strawn Art Gallery
331 W. College Ave.
Jacksonville www.strawnartgallery.org
To learn more, go to https://www.traceymaras.com/.
Karen Ackerman Witter met Tracey Maras when she was paired with her to create a work of art for the Springfield Art Association’s 2025 Art Synergy fundraiser. She witnessed Tracey’s artistic talents, teaching abilities and love of nature and art first-hand.
This article appears in REGEN Fall 2025.
