Merry graduated from Southern Illinois University in 2008 with a BFA in Art Education and Art History. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2017 with a MA in Art Education. She currently resides in Decatur, Illinois where she works as a middle school art teacher.
Merry has taught art classes for the Monticello Area Arts Council in Monticello and currently the Decatur Arts Council in Decatur. Past classes include batik, watercolor, sculpture, and the popular Cocktails & Creations series. She is currently teaching private lessons for a few families in Macon county.
As an art educator, Merry's main objective is arts advocacy for special populations. This includes at-risk youth and children with traumatic brain injuries. She has worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Carbondale, Neurorehab of Carbondale, and Kemmerer Village of Assumption, Illinois. She also has a growing interest in social justice and multicultural education, specifically African American art history.
In her own work, Merry focuses on a wide range of medical images; microscopic views of viruses, human ailments, and the side effects of drug use. She also has an on-going body of work, the Blue Series. This series of abstract paintings is primarily acrylic on wood panel with a thick glaze top coat. She currently has work on display and for sale at The ArtFarm in downtown Decatur.
In addition to her regular work, Merry works on commissioned sports pieces, house portraits, and shoe fan art. She is an avid shoe collector herself, especially Nike Dunks and Air Jordans. Merry's younger sister Bess is also an art teacher. She teaches at high school art in Mahomet, IL. They share a long term goal of starting a jewelry line together.