Mary Klein had no known connection to the pear, but one evening after a long period of “painters block” she suddenly created a piece with three pears. There wasn’t much thought involved in the selection of this image, but painting pears seemed comforting to her.

One day a friend of Mary’s made the observation that a pear actually resembles the human heart much more than the traditional Valentine version. This was a revelation to Mary, especially since she herself grew up with heart problems.

“I have endured three open heart surgeries,” says Mary. “The pears were my hearts – my three hearts, my three chances at life. It made sense that I repeated this image; it was my symbol for life. If I don’t paint pears for a couple of weeks I get tired, irritated, off balance. It enlivens me to paint pears.”

Klein was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and 1966 and was raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Her work is in galleries throughout the country and has participated in hundreds of solo and group shows. The House of Blues has many of her early works in their venue collections