There are many people would agree with the old cliché: “you can take the girl out of the South, but not the South out of the girl” becomes more obvious when getting to know the other side of the professional artist, Mary Ann Boysen. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, but reared in Mississippi, in the city Greenville, this state’s largest river port, and also serves as a major retail hub for bordering Louisiana and Arkansas counties, the region is coined as the “Heart and Soul of the Delta.” Still some 40 plus years later, she fondly recalls her growing up years where real traditional southern hospitality blooms forth.  “When I really think back to my childhood days, I know why it has been easy for me to mingle with people. It was instilled in me that skin color was not an assessment factor for equality, but the true measures were based on quality: how we treat others, the sincerity of our words, and the respect we give with no strings attached,” said the artist.

Needless to say, not everything in her youth years were all daffodils and gardenias. She is the only child of career parents, Frederick and Mary Guice.  “I was lonely. My father was the Chief Engineer for Mississippi Power and Light Company, and my mother managed the [OPA] ration board during WWII, and later was the business office manager for a local department store,” she said. In order to fill those time periods and need of that special parental bond, she often found that solace in a friend’s mother. But on the other hand, she always knew her parents loved her deeply. “I had sort of a Nanny, who took care of the house and me, while my mother worked. “Suzie not only pick up the pieces where my mother left off, but also showed me the cultural beauty of her race,” said Boysen.

Artist Boysen first taste of creativity was no different than most kindergarteners. “I learned to paint within the lines of the coloring books,” she said. However at the ripe age of 7, she hung up her brush and took up another art form. When the war ended, her parents were able to afford the purchase of a used upright piano. “I had a wonderful teacher, and practicing three-five hours a day was not a problem.” Before long, the young pianist was giving solo concerts, played on the radio and also during church services.